Freddie Laker

Sir Freddie Laker was one of the classic heroes of the 20th century, and ever since I was a teenager, a personal hero of mine.

For those who don't remember Sir Freddie, he was the inventor of the low-cost airline with the launch of Laker SkyTrain in 1977. Freddie served in the Royal Air Force in World War II, and when peace broke out, started buying up its old bombers. Despite the leaden bureaucracy of postwar Britain, his freight and passenger charter business was up and running by the time the Soviet Union divided Germany in...