Sir Freddie Laker was once asked by a schoolmaster during childhood what he wanted to be when he grew up. He cheekily replied “a millionaire”.
His classmates laughed at him, but Freddie went on to see his dream come true by making cheap air travel available to all. He launched charter company Laker Airlines in 1966, then welcomed passengers with his Skytrain service.
He even stood on his head the day before the inaugural flight of his transatlantic Skytrain service from Gatwick in London to JFK in New York in 1977, declaring: “I’ve done everything but stand on my head to get Skytrain off the ground. Now I’ve done that!”
