Editing Cunard Line (section)

===Disruption by airliners, Cunard Eagle and BOAC-Cunard: (1950–1968)===
Cunard was in an especially good position to take advantage of the increase in North Atlantic travel during the 1950s and the Queens were a major generator of US currency for Great Britain. Cunard's slogan, "Getting there is half the fun", was specifically aimed at the tourist trade. Beginning in 1954, Cunard took delivery of four new 22,000-GRT intermediate liners for the Canadian route and the Liverpool–New York route. The last White Star motor ship, ''{{MV|Britannic|1929|2}}'' of 1930, remained in service until 1960.<ref name=graham />

The introduction of jet airliners in 1958 heralded major change for the [[ocean liner]] industry. In 1960 a government-appointed committee recommended the construction of project Q3, a conventional 75,000 GRT liner to replace ''Queen Mary''. Under the plan, the government would lend Cunard the majority of the liner's cost.<ref name=times20>{{cite news |title= 75,000-Ton Vessel to Replace Queen Mary Is Urged in Britain|work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2 June 1960 |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40B1EFA3D5C1A728DDDAB0894DE405B808AF1D3&scp=1&sq=75%2C000-ton+vessel+to+replace+Queen+Mary+is+urged+in+Britain&st=p }}</ref> However, some Cunard stockholders questioned the plan at the June 1961 board meeting because transatlantic flights were gaining in popularity.<ref name=times21>{{cite news |title= Queen Mary Plan Draws Protests|work=[[The New York Times]] |date=15 June 1961 |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0D16FC395D1B728DDDAC0994DE405B818AF1D3&scp=1&sq=queen%20mary%20plan%20draws%20protests&st=cse }}</ref> By 1963 the plan had been changed to a dual-purpose 55,000 GRT ship designed to cruise in the off-season.<ref name=times22>{{cite news |first=George |last=Horne |title= Cunard's Decision on New Liner Is Due by Board Meeting in June|work=[[The New York Times]] |date=9 April 1963|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0710FA3858137A93CBA9178FD85F478685F9&scp=1&sq=Cunard%27s%20decision%20on%20new%20liner&st=cse }}</ref> The new vessel design was known as Q4.<ref name=times21a>{{cite news |title= Cunard Unveils Scale Model of Its Q4|work=[[The New York Times]] |date=5 April 1967 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/04/05/archives/cunard-unveils-scale-model-of-its-q4.html }}</ref> Ultimately, this ship came into service in 1969 as the 70,300 GRT {{Ship|2=Queen Elizabeth 2|4=2}}.<ref name=graham />

Cunard attempted to address the challenge presented by jet airliners by diversifying its business into air travel. In March 1960, Cunard bought a 60% [[equity stake|shareholding]] in [[British Eagle]], an independent (non-government owned) airline, for £30&nbsp;million, and changed its name to '''Cunard Eagle Airways'''. The support from this new [[shareholder]] enabled Cunard Eagle to become the first British independent airline to operate pure [[jet airliner]]s, as a result of a £6&nbsp;million order for two new [[Boeing 707#707-420|Boeing 707–420]] passenger aircraft.<ref name="707_Order"/> The order had been placed (including an option on a third aircraft) in expectation of being granted traffic rights for transatlantic scheduled services.<ref name="707_Order">{{cite web |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1961/1961%20-%200673.html |title=Air Commerce |work=Flight International |date=18 May 1961 |page=683 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025053602/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1961/1961%20-%200673.html |archive-date=25 October 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1960/1960%20-%200425.html |title=Cunard and "British Eagle |work=Flight International |date=25 March 1960 |page=425}}</ref><ref>''Aeroplane'' – Air Transport ...: "Cunard Eagle Buys Boeings'', Vol. 100, No. 2587, p. 545, Temple Press, London, 18 May 1961</ref><ref>''Fly me, I'm Freddie!'', p. 99</ref> The airline took delivery of its first [[Bristol Britannia]] aircraft on 5 April 1960 (on lease from [[Cubana de Aviación|Cubana]]).<ref name=AW>{{cite journal|title=British Eagle's Whispering Giants|journal=Airliner World|date=February 2015|pages=42–48}}</ref> Cunard hoped to capture a significant share of the 1 million people that crossed the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] by air in 1960. This was the first time more passengers chose to make their [[transatlantic crossing]] by air than sea.<ref>''Airways – B.O.A.C.'s Rolls-Royce Boeing 707s (Cunard Eagle Airways and BOAC-Cunard)'', Vol. 17, No. 2, Iss. 170, p. 38, HPC Publishing, St Leonards-on-Sea, April 2010</ref> In June 1961, Cunard Eagle became the first independent airline in the UK to be awarded a licence by the newly constituted Air Transport Licensing Board (ATLB)<ref name="Eagle_35">''Aircraft'' (Gone but not forgotten... British Eagle), p. 35</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1961/1961%20-%200463.html |title=Britain's New Board – Plain Man's Guide to the Air Transport Licensing Board |work=Flight International |date=13 April 1961 |pages=471–473}}</ref> to operate a scheduled service on the prime Heathrow – New York JFK route, but the licence was revoked in November 1961 after main competitor, state-owned [[BOAC]], appealed to Aviation Minister [[Peter Thorneycroft, Baron Thorneycroft|Peter Thorneycroft]].<ref name="independent_challenge2">{{cite web |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1967/1967%20-%201657.html |title=The Independent Challenge .. |work=Flight International |date=17 August 1967 |page=247}}</ref><ref name="Eagle_34_5">Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten... British Eagle), pp. 34/5</ref><ref name="Victory">{{citation |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1961/1961%20-%200895.html |title=Cunard Eagle wins |work=Flight International |date=29 June 1961 |page=907}}</ref><ref name="Debate">{{citation |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1961/1961%20-%201733.html |title=Parliament Debates Civil Aviation |work=Flight International |date=30 November 1961 |page=839}}</ref><ref name="Postscript">{{citation |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1961/1961%20-%201754.html |title=Cunard Eagle Western – Postscript |work=Flight International |date=30 November 1961 |page=860}}</ref><ref name="CunardEagle_jetservices">{{citation |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1962/1962%20-%200503.html |title=Cunard Eagle bounces back |work=Flight International |date=5 April 1962 |page=501}}</ref><ref name="Application_Aims">{{citation |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1968/1968%20-%200047.html |title=Eagle's Application Aims |work=Flight International |date=11 January 1968 |page=49}}</ref><ref name="Competition_Obstacles">{{citation |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1970/1970%20-%200409.html |title=Towards a British Aeroflot |work=Flight International |date=12 March 1970 }}</ref><ref name="FlyMe_99_148">''Fly me, I'm Freddie!'', pp. 99, 148</ref> On 5 May 1962, the airline's first 707 inaugurated scheduled jet services from London Heathrow to Bermuda and Nassau. The new jet service – marketed as the ''Cunarder Jet'' in the UK and as the ''Londoner'' in the western hemisphere<ref>''Airways – B.O.A.C.'s Rolls-Royce Boeing 707s (Cunard Eagle Airways and BOAC-Cunard)'', Vol. 17, No. 2, Iss. 170, p. 39, HPC Publishing, St Leonards-on-Sea, April 2010</ref> – replaced the earlier Britannia operation on this route. Cunard Eagle succeeded in extending this service to Miami despite the loss of its original transatlantic scheduled licence and BOAC's claim that there was insufficient traffic to warrant a direct service from the UK. A load factor of 56% was achieved at the outset. Inauguration of the first British through-plane service between London and Miami also helped Cunard Eagle increase utilisation of its 707s.<ref name="CunardEagle_jetservices"/><ref name="CunardEagle_jetinaugural1">{{citation |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1962/1962%20-%200772.html |title=Cunarder Jet Challenge – Eagle Versus Speedbird |work=Flight International |date=17 May 1962 |pages=770/1}}</ref>

[[File:G-ASGC Vickers Super VC10 Srs1151 (cn 853) BOAC. (5662144246) (cropped).jpg|thumb|G-ASGC Vickers Super VC10]]
BOAC countered Eagle's move to establish itself as a full-fledged scheduled transatlantic competitor on its Heathrow–JFK [[flagship#Flagship as metaphor|flagship]] route by forming BOAC-Cunard as a new £30&nbsp;million joint venture with Cunard. BOAC contributed 70% of the new company's capital and eight Boeing 707s. Cunard Eagle's long-haul scheduled operation<ref name="CunardEagle_RouteMap">{{cite web |url=http://www.britisheagle.net/Routes-Maps-CE.htm |title=The Home of Eagle ... – Cunard Eagle Route Map |publisher=britisheagle.net}}</ref> – including the two new 707s – was absorbed into BOAC-Cunard before delivery of the second 707, in June 1962.<ref group=nb>BOAC-Cunard eventually operated a fleet comprising 11 [[Boeing 707#707-420|707-436/465]]s, two [[Boeing 707#707-320C|707-336C]]s and four [[Vickers VC10|Super VC10]]s</ref><ref name="Competition_Obstacles"/><ref name="BOAC_Cunard"/><ref name="HandOver">''Aeroplane – World Transport Affairs: C.E.A. hands over mid-Atlantic service'', Vol. 104, No. 2659, p. 12, Temple Press, London, 4 October 1962</ref><ref>''Airliner Classics (BOAC throughout the 1950s and 1960s – Boeing 707s and Vickers VC-10s)'', Key Publishing, Stamford, UK, July 2012, p. 97</ref> BOAC-Cunard [[aircraft lease|lease]]d any spare aircraft capacity to BOAC to augment the BOAC mainline fleet at peak times. As part of this deal, BOAC-Cunard also bought flying hours from BOAC for using the latter's aircraft in the event of capacity shortfalls. This maximised combined fleet use. The joint fleet use agreement did not cover Cunard Eagle's European scheduled, trooping and charter operations.<ref name="BOAC_Cunard">''Aeroplane – B.O.A.C. buys Cunard off the North Atlantic'', Vol. 103, No. 2643, p. 4, Temple Press, London, 14 June 1962</ref> However, the joint venture was not successful for Cunard and lasted only until 1966, when BOAC bought out Cunard's share.<ref name=times8>{{cite news |first=Granger |last=Blair |title= BOAC buys out Cunard's Share|work=[[The New York Times]] |date=16 September 1964 |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0B16FF3C58117B93C4A81782D85F428685F9&scp=1&sq=boac+buys+out+cunard%27s+share&st=p }}</ref> Cunard also sold a majority holding in the remainder of Cunard Eagle back to its founder in 1963.

Within ten years of the introduction of jet airliners in 1958, most of the conventional Atlantic liners were gone. ''Mauretania'' was retired in 1965,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mauretania-ship-1906-1935|title=Mauretania – ship [1906–1935]|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> ''Queen Mary'' and ''Caronia'' in 1967, and ''Queen Elizabeth'' in 1968. Two of the new intermediate liners were sold by 1970 and the other two were converted to [[cruise ship]]s.<ref name=graham /> All Cunard ships flew both the Cunard and White Star Line house flags until 4 November 1968, when the last White Star ship, ''[[SS Nomadic (1911)|Nomadic]]'' was withdrawn from service. After this, the White Star flag was no longer flown and all remnants of both White Star Line and Cunard-White Star Line were retired.<ref>{{harvnb|Anderson|1964|p=183}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|de Kerbrech|2009|p=229}}</ref>