Freddie Laker

When they are being photographed, people in the airline industry are usually positioned in front of one of their aircraft and asked to splay their arms, wing-like, by those wielding the cameras.

When they are being photographed, people in the airline industry are usually positioned in front of one of their aircraft and asked to splay their arms, wing-like, by those wielding the cameras.

The results are sometimes bizarre to say the least, but still we see such mages "flying" off our pages and screens.

Grainy footage of Sir Freddie Laker - with a fine pair of sweptback wings - appeared on TV at the weekend.

His death was reported and his astonishing career was condensed into a package lasting less than 40 seconds. The stills versions of the wing arms pictures and his famous Skytrain filled the newspapers.

Sir Freddie was undoubtedly a pioneering entrepreneur paving the way, or a flight path at least, for many to follow.

His competitors in the aviation industry may not have welcomed his arrival or his tactics, but the rest of us have a lot to thank him for.

I noticed that the same newspapers that carried the news of his death also advertised return airfares from London to New York at around £249.

Think about that when you enquire about the cost of a Virgin Trains first class open return from Lime Street to London. Suffice to say, if you flew to New York you’d have enough change to buy a good pair of snowshoes.

It’s entrepreneurship such as that demonstrated in such a pioneering way by Sir Freddie that makes so much of the world go round today. Put aside, for a moment at least, issues over carbon emissions and the way expanded air services may contribute to global warming, and think instead of the incredible opportunities opened up by creations like the Laker Skytrain.

Laker inspired a generation by opening up transatlantic air travel. And in the years that followed his early flights, think too about what has followed.

I’m prepared to bet that some of those whose took Laker’s cheap seats to the States were on one-way tickets - grabbing the opportunity to make their way to a new life in America. Maybe even finding jobs in the early days of Silicon Valley. In doing so contributing to the most dramatic and innovative technological developments we have witnessed in the last couple of decades.

The sort of groundbreaking achievements of people like Sir Freddie Laker make their mark in lots of ways.

His contribution to air travel may remain unrivalled. But he surely should be remembered too as a brilliant entrepreneur who created immeasurable opportunities for so many people.

His drive, talent and vision stretched far beyond the Atlantic. Few people have embodied the spirit of the entrepreneur in such a way. His latter day followers travel in the wake of a class act.