Role Turboprop airliner
National origin United Kingdom
Manufacturer Vickers-Armstrongs
First flight 16 July 1948
Introduction 18 April 1953 with British European AirwaysRetired January 2009
Status Retired
Primary users British European Airways
Capital Airlines
Trans-Canada Air Lines
Air Canada
Produced 1948–1963
Number built 445
Developed into Vickers Vanguard
The Viscount was well received by the public for its cabin conditions, which included pressurisation, reductions in vibration and noise, and panoramic windows. It became one of the most successful and profitable of the first postwar transport aircraft; 445 Viscounts were built for a range of international customers, including in North America..
Regular passenger flights were launched by BEA on 18 April 1953, the world's first scheduled turboprop airline service. BEA became a large user of the Viscount, as well the rival Handley Page Dart Herald; by mid-1958, BEA's Viscount fleet had carried over 2.75 million passengers over 200,000 flight hours. Following BEA's launch of the type, multiple independent charter operators, such as British Eagle, were quick to adopt the Viscount into their fleets During the 1960s, the Viscount formed the backbone of domestic air travel in Scotland
TCA's procurement of the Viscount generated considerable interest from airlines and industry figures across the United States, including American aviation pioneer Howard Hughes, who purchased 15 Viscounts immediately after personally flying one. US Capital Airlines became an important operator of the Type 700 Viscount, using it heavily throughout the eastern US routes; in 1958, Capital reportedly had accumulated over 350,000 flight hours on its Viscounts, more than any other operator. Continental Airlines and Northeast Airlines also became US Viscount operators.
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In late 1960, the People's Republic of China had begun negotiations with Vickers for as many as 40 Viscounts, but negotiations were protracted due to political tensions
BEA, and its nationalised successor British Airways (BA), vigorously operated the Viscount on Britain's domestic routes
The first airline in Latin America to operate the Viscount was Cubana de Aviación. Cubana's −755D Viscounts, delivered in 1956,