this period, it carried thousands of holidaymakers from the Western parts of the then divided German capital to resorts in the Mediterranean and Canary Islands. Ground handling In 1972, Laker Airways co-founded Gatwick Handling, a Gatwick handling agent that has become part of the Aviance group, with Dan-Air. Each airline owned 50% of Gatwick Handling at its inception. Climbing speed In the days when airports and air space were relatively uncongested, Laker Airways instructed departing One-Eleven crews to tune into other jet aircraft taking off ahead of them, and to begin a conversation with the other aircraft's crew while continuing their climb. The aim was to obtain information about the other aircraft's altitude to encourage that aircraft's crew to climb to their upper cruising altitude as quickly as possible so that Laker's One-Elevens could attain their optimum height in the shortest possible time. This helped Laker's One-Elevens climb faster without using as much power, helping the company to reduce fuel consumption and reduce the engines' wear and tear. Weight-saving Among the weight-saving measures, Laker Airways used to make its aircraft fly further without refuelling was a baggage allowance limit of rather than the more usual , and carrying fewer passengers than the aircraft could hold. This policy was first employed when the airline began operating its BAC One-Elevens. By limiting the free baggage allowance and restricting passengers, the company used the weight saved to carry additional fuel, increasing range. This was sufficient to permit non-stop flights from London Gatwick or Berlin Tegel to Tenerife at least in one direction, depending on the direction and strength of the winds. This helped make Laker's One-Elevens more competitive with larger, longer-range aircraft operated by rivals, especially for tour operators struggling to fill a bigger aircraft profitably. If the passenger load was greater than 70, the charterer paid for any stops, encouraging operators to keep to 70 passengers. Alternatively, weight saved as a result of limiting free baggage could be traded for reduced fuel consumption on shorter routes well within the BAC One-Eleven's range by making the aircraft lighter, even with a full load of passengers. Introduction of DC-10 aircraft Weight-saving measures adopted to boost the BAC One-Eleven's range stood Laker Airways in good stead when the airline introduced the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10. This model lacked the range of the DC-10-30. The DC-10-10 was optimised for medium-haul routes. The aircraft McDonnell Douglas was offering