Heathrow in 1960 as a result of Blackbushe's closure to commercial traffic. The Cunard Line acquired a controlling stake in Eagle in March 1960 which resulted in the creation of a joint venture company trading as Cunard Eagle. Eagle's founder Harold Bamberg was appointed as aviation director of the company. The new support enabled Cunard Eagle to order two new Boeing 707 jet aircraft in May 1961. 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) to operate a scheduled service on the prime Heathrow – New York JFK route, using Boeing 707 jets and Bristol Britannia turboprops at a frequency of one round-trip per day. The licence was valid for 15 years – from 31 August 1961 to 31 July 1976. The airline also won the right to serve Manchester, Glasgow Prestwick, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston and Washington. The carriage of passengers on UK domestic sectors and of mail on all sectors was denied. Similarly, requests for traffic rights to Toronto, Montreal, Detroit and Chicago were turned down. This decision angered BOAC, which was losing money at the time. It appealed to Aviation Minister Peter Thorneycroft, who was empowered to accept or reject the ATLB's recommendations and to uphold or quash appeals against its decisions. The state airline cited its order for 45 Standard and Super VC10 long-haul jets and an earlier ministerial promise not to permit another British competitor on this route in support of its appeal. The appeal was upheld, resulting in revocation of Cunard Eagle's licence in November 1961. In the meantime the airline acquired two further Britannia aircraft in March and May 1961, both ex-Canadian Pacific Air Lines aircraft. On 27 February 1962, Cunard Eagle took delivery of its first jet aircraft – a Boeing 707-465 bearing the Bermudan registration VR-BBW. Exactly one month later, on 27 March 1962, commercial 707 operations commenced, initially supplementing Cunard Eagle Airways (Bermuda) Viscount schedules on the Bermuda – New York JFK run on an ad hoc basis. This made Cunard Eagle the first British independent airline to operate jet services with fare-paying passengers. 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