Airline is a British television drama created by Wilfred Greatorex and lasted for nine episodes broadcast from 3 January to 28 February 1982. Produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV1, the series stars Roy Marsden as Jack Ruskin, a pilot demobbed after the end of the Second World War who starts up his own air freight business.
In 1946, Flight Sgt. Russell tries to stay in the RAF as a pilot. A former mentor falls under suspicion of massive illegalities and needs a favor, leading to a brush with smuggling.
Demobilized from the Air Force, Jack Ruskin hustles to start his own private air service with a few other men.
Ruskin Air Service's first cargo run is a failure when the cargo of eggs is confiscated. Debts and interest on the aircraft loan pile up. A load of tractor parts headed to Palestine goes awry when a fuel stop leads to a change in cargo.
February. Ruskin Air Services is grounded: locked in the icy grip of winter, Enter Ernie Cade, with a proposition the men find hard to refuse, Had they known what they were letting themselves in for, they would have remained earthbound.
March 1947, Ruskin is broke. His plane is badly damaged and Cade is putting the screws on. Hardly the time to expand, one would think, But Ruskin's determination to succeed knows no bounds.
Spring 1947, With the forces of bureaucracy massing against him in England, Ruskin finds himself in Malta, with no fuel, no cooperation and no way out. All seems lost until the winds of fortune change - for the worse.
Stripped of his pilot's licence and no airline to run, Ruskin, undaunted, embarks on a new 'money earner' - and that's where he comes unstuck: military training hasn't exactly prepared his crew for carrying passengers.
Spring 1948. Dark clouds are gathering over Jennie and Jack's wedding plans, The airline is in deep -and deadly - trouble. Ruskin must make a decision which will affect the lives of everyone around him, But will he make the right choice?
Autumn 1948. With high financial rewards to be made from the Berlin airlift, independent operator Ruskin has nothing to operate. He has lost his licence, one of his planes and most of his crew. Can he save himself from disaster.
