Aquila Airways, British South American Airways, Silver City and a host of other airlines tend to be forgotten in the telling of British aviation history as everyone remembers the big names: British Airways, BEA, and BOAC. This informative book, the first of three illustrated volumes, redresses the balance in telling the stories of the independents. Covering a brief but eventful timescale, this book looks at developments before and during the Second World War, nationalisation and port-war aviation policy, business opportunities and manufacturing policy, up to the Berlin Airlift and its aftermath. The first truly low-cost airlines, the independents have left an indelible mark on aviation history, fashioning the template of low costs, targeted marketing, differential prices and cheap fares. Guy Halford-MacLeod worked for a number of independent airlines between 1971 and 1995. He has been researching their history whilst working as a volunteer at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.