Airline

1h

Drama

Airline is a British television series created by Wilfred Greatorex and lasted for nine episodes broadcast from 3 January to 28 February 1982. Produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV1, the series stars Roy Marsden as Jack Ruskin, a pilot demobbed after the end of the Second World War who starts up his own air freight business.

Episodes

Cast

Look After Number One

1. Look After Number One

52min

3rd Jan 1982

In 1946, Flight Sgt. Russell tries to stay in the RAF as a pilot. A former mentor falls under suspicion of massive illegalities and needs a favor, leading to a brush with smuggling.

Brave New World

2. Brave New World

1h

10th Jan 1982

Demobilized from the Air Force, Jack Ruskin hustles to start his own private air service with a few other men.

Conscience

3. Conscience

1h

17th Jan 1982

Ruskin Air Service's first cargo run is a failure when the cargo of eggs is confiscated. Debts and interest on the aircraft loan pile up. A load of tractor parts headed to Palestine goes awry when a fuel stop leads to a change in cargo.

Touch and Go

4. Touch and Go

1h

24th Jan 1982

February. Ruskin Air Services is grounded: locked in the icy grip of winter, Enter Ernie Cade, with a proposition the men find hard to refuse, Had they known what they were letting themselves in for, they would have remained earthbound.

Fool's Errands

5. Fool's Errands

1h

31st Jan 1982

March 1947, Ruskin is broke. His plane is badly damaged and Cade is putting the screws on. Hardly the time to expand, one would think, But Ruskin's determination to succeed knows no bounds.

Captain Clarke Plus One

6. Captain Clarke Plus One

1h

7th Feb 1982

Spring 1947, With the forces of bureaucracy massing against him in England, Ruskin finds himself in Malta, with no fuel, no cooperation and no way out. All seems lost until the winds of fortune change - for the worse.

Not Much of a Life

7. Not Much of a Life

1h

14th Feb 1982

Stripped of his pilot's licence and no airline to run, Ruskin, undaunted, embarks on a new 'money earner' - and that's where he comes unstuck: military training hasn't exactly prepared his crew for carrying passengers.

Officers and Gentlemen

8. Officers and Gentlemen

1h

21st Feb 1982

Spring 1948. Dark clouds are gathering over Jennie and Jack's wedding plans, The airline is in deep -and deadly - trouble. Ruskin must make a decision which will affect the lives of everyone around him, But will he make the right choice?

Too Many Promises

9. Too Many Promises

1h

28th Feb 1982

Autumn 1948. With high financial rewards to be made from the Berlin airlift, independent operator Ruskin has nothing to operate. He has lost his licence, one of his planes and most of his crew. Can he save himself from disaster.

First air date

3rd Jan 1982

Last air date

28th Feb 1982

Status

Ended

Type

Scripted

Original language

en

Networks