Franco Mancassola *

The charismatic low-cost airline pioneer Franco Mancassola, who founded Debonair in 1996, has passed away aged 84, after a long battle with cancer.

A seasoned airline veteran with Continental Airlines, then Hawaii’s Mid Pacific Air, his first airline launch was Discovery Air on the Island, flying BAe 146s.

With ambitions to start a UK low-cost carrier (LCC), Debonair launched with three 146s, leased via BAe’s newly created Asset Management Division, as a Gatwick-based airline.  With slots not available he was welcomed at Luton joining the newly launched easyJet at the airport.  Debonair served Barcelona, Copenhagen, Dusseldorf, Munich, Newcastle and Nice, adding more 146s.

In 1998 it added Affordable Business Class (ABC) and floated shares on the Easdaq Stock Exchange in July 1997, raising £25m.  However, its scheduled services were not profitable. It started to focus on Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance (ACMI) work out of Europe – with Air France, Lufthansa and Swissair using its own 146s and B737s.

Debonair ceased operations in October 1999, coinciding with the European Regions Airline Association’s (ERA)  annual general assembly in Paris.

His legacy was ushering in the first European LCC hybrid model, later adopted by others, giving away free flights on launch day and a most entertaining speech at the Aviation Club.

Franco was a keen reader of BTN and his comments from Hawaii always welcome.  In later life he and wife Maureen (who survives him) moved to Perugia (Italy). One thing about Franco.   He was very much Italian.

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Robert Hardless, United Kingdom

Whilst at AB Airlines, we had some interesting commercial agreements with Debonair and the flamboyant Franco. RIP