Monarch Airlines was founded in June 1967 and began operations from Luton Airport in April 1968, using two Bristol Britannias to fly charter flights for package holidays. Supported by Cosmos Tours, Monarch expanded during the 1970s to become one of the UK’s largest charter airlines in the 1980s, supporting the growing inclusive tour business. In 1986, Monarch began to operate scheduled flights, marking its gradual transition from primarily a charter airline to a predominantly scheduled operator as customers started to organise their own travel arrangements. A modified low-cost approach was adopted in 2004, and, by 2008, Monarch firmly promoted itself as a low-cost airline.

However, significant financial losses were encountered in 2009 and 2011 and, despite several finance rescue packages from the owners, the Monarch Group was sold to private investment company Greybull Capital in 2014. This resulted in a significant downsizing of operations, combining a reduction in fleet size with a shift to Monarch becoming an entirely scheduled low-cost carrier flying only short-haul leisure routes. Although bankruptcy was avoided in September 2016 through major investment in the company, financial problems resurfaced a year later and Monarch Airlines went into administration at the beginning of October 2017. With over 130 images, this book describes the history of Monarch Airlines from its inception in 1967 to its eventual demise 50 years later in 2017.