I had a recent post about a testbed Dash 7. That had resulted from finding some other shots that I was looking for to use in a project. That was regarding two defunct airlines that had operated from London City Airport when it first started operations. The only aircraft that was initially allowed to use the airport was the de Havilland Canada Dash 7. The initial operator was Brymon Airways that, if memory serves me right, was based in Plymouth.

A second operator joined them at LCY with the imaginative name of London City Airways. Their livery included a fin designed to look like a business suit. The target market was city workers that didn’t want to make the trek out to Heathrow. It wasn’t long before there was a push to get jet aircraft into the airport. The BAe146 was the only option at that point and a demonstration was undertaken in 1988. I was there for the CAA and had a chance to get out on the ramp at one point. I got these photos during that visit. The 146 did become a regular feature and then runway expansions allowed a variety of larger aircraft to use the airport with slightly less restrictive approach paths.