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British television series
the 1998 British TV series

Airline was a British fly on the wall television programme produced by LWT that showcases the daily happenings of passengers, ground workers and flight crew of Britannia Airways (series 1) and later EasyJet (from series 2). The show was broadcast between 6 March 1998 and 19 January 2007 on ITV, was often repeated on ITV2 and aired in syndication on Pick (previously known as Sky Three and Pick TV), Sky Real Lives and, as of 4 February 2019, CBS Reality. The programme's success sparked a US version of the series, following American low cost airline Southwest Airlines.

EasyJet were first approached about the possibility of filming during mid 1998, after the first series with Britannia Airways (filmed at Manchester Airport in 1997) was discontinued. The first series with EasyJet was broadcast in January 1999, and the programme continued with them until it was discontinued. In 2003 it was ITV's most popular factual programme. The programme has been sold to many countries worldwide, including New Zealand, Australia, and Japan. Starting with the second series in 1999, the programme follows passengers and staff of EasyJet and Reed Aviation (the handling agents) including Manager: Graham Fraser; Check in trouble shooter: Jane Boulton; Check in assistant: Katrina Leeder; Supervisors: Leo Jones, Brett Holland and Leanne Cheung, Dispatcher: Kevin Reardon; Captain: James McBride, Stewardess: Janey Stock and Stelios as well as many passengers. The series were originally set in Liverpool and Luton but later incorporated Belfast, Bristol and Newcastle airports. Airline was also occasionally filmed at Gatwick and Stansted airports. Tony Robinson and Veronika Hyks replaced Charlie Higson as voiceover. The programme also follows some passengers and staff on interesting journeys and during important moments in their lives. Wedding proposals, marriages, illnesses, business trips, reunions and once in a lifetime experiences have all been filmed, both happy and sad, and one 2001 episode featured exclusively on the consequences the September 11 attacks had on EasyJet's operations at Luton. The programme also aims to educate the airline's passengers concerning its rules and regulations—some of the highlighted issues relate to missed check in, incorrect travel documentation, and the carriage of prohibited items.

These titles have a sky background and feature a Britannia plane (series 1) or an EasyJet plane (series 2–4) before cutting to clips of the overall series. For series 5 and 6, these titles changed to using a lighter blue sky and switching to an all blue logo. For the next two series, the titles changed to using an orange sky and blue/orange logo. For the final two series, they were similar style to that used in series 5 and 6 but now with a reddish tint and features an airline in the logo.

At the start of each series the narrator would show snippets of what was to come throughout the series. This would normally be announced with the phrase "Welcome onboard another series of Airline"
At the beginning of each episode in every series, the narrator would give a quick preview of what would be shown. This would normally be announced with the phrases "Coming up/Tonight on Airline" or "Onboard Airline tonight". At the end of most episodes, the narrator would provide an epilogue of what eventually happened to some of the passengers, staff, or business decisions (e. g. new plane, stock price) involved in that particular episode. Series 1 4 did not show what was coming up in the next episode but did feature at the end of the programme, before the credits, information of what happened to the passengers featured. Starting in series 5, clips of what would feature in the next episode were shown during the first 10 seconds of the credits. At the end of each series, the narrator would look back and highlight some of the more important things shown such as gripping stories about various members of airline staff. This would take about a minute and feature the common phrase "The Summer/Winter season has come to an end".

Series two introduces Liverpool airport as small with everything on one storey. Opposite the entrance are sales/ticket desks to the right are check in desks and then security and departures are at the end of the concourse. Series two reveals the end check in desks have been removed and there is now an upstairs which provides access to the departure lounge which has also moved upstairs. The Easyjet sales desk is not seen until briefly in series 4 where staff are wearing orange uniforms. From series 5 the sales desks is where most of the filming takes place, the staff are now mainly wearing Reed Aviation uniforms and the check in desks have been replaced with blue similar to what used to be at Luton. This continued into series six where the original entrance becomes covered over and during this series all business is moved into the new terminal and the airport becomes known as "Liverpool John Lennon" The official opening of this terminal is featured in the final episode of series 6.

Series NarratorStart dateEnd date Episodes Notes 1 Charlie Higson 6 March 1998 10 April 1998 6 Followed Britannia Airways. The series was filmed at Manchester Airport 2Tony Robinson 12 January 1999 26 February 1999 8 This is the first series to feature EasyJet. All ground staff wear Reed Aviation uniforms; Red Jackets, a Dark blue shirt with pink petals and a black rimmed red hat with a Reed aviation badge. Or a white shirt and tie with Reed Aviation petals. 3 10 September 1999 17 December 1999 10 This is the last series that featured the old Luton terminal. First series featuring Luton and some Liverpool ground staff in orange satin shirts (with a blue jacket). 4Veronika Hyks 23 June 2000 22 September 2000 14 This is the first series that featured the new Luton terminal. 5 12 March 2001 28 May 2001 12 Leo Jones joins Easyjet late in the series. Check in assistant Katrina Leeder leaves Easyjet after 6 years. Leanne Chung and Sarah Tier now appear at Liverpool. 6 15 April 2002 12 August 2002 18 This is the last series that featured the old Liverpool terminal, the new terminal was featured during the last couple of episodes. It is also the last series of Reed Aviation. 7Tony Robinson 27 May 2003 12 August 2003 12 This series followed the merging of EasyJet and Go Fly. Easyjet staff now have new uniforms and former Reed Aviation staff now wear Aviance uniforms. Stelios steps down as Easyjet chairman. 8 8 October 2004 24 December 2004 12 9 30 September 2005 16 December 2005 12 Belfast Airport becomes a regular feature. Jane Boulton, who was featured since series 2, leaves the airline to work for Aer Lingus at Heathrow. 10 8 September 2006 19 January 2007 20 Currently the last aired series.

Entitle Narrator Aired Notes Airline at Christmas Tony Robinson 27 December 1999 This is the only episode that showed both the old and new check in areas of Luton Airport. (60 minutes)

Series 1: 10x30' (2001) – First shown from 31 August 2001.