Setting The story takes place at MJN Air, the world's smallest airline, consisting of just one 16-seater aeroplane: a Lockheed McDonnell 3-12
business jet, with the
aircraft registration Golf Echo Romeo Tango India — G-ERTI — and thus nicknamed Gerti. Though MJN squabble among themselves, in several episodes the crew unite to combat a common enemy or problem. A recurring antagonist is Gordon Shappey (
Timothy West), Carolyn's ex-husband and Arthur's father, who resents Carolyn obtaining the jet in the divorce and frequently tries to reacquire it through means fair and foul. Other recurring characters include Mr Birling (
Geoffrey Whitehead), who every year hires the plane to take him to see the final match in the
Six Nations Rugby Union tournament. On "Birling Day" the crew toady to Birling in the hope that he will give them all large tips, even going so far as hastily organising (and faking) a flight to
Timbuktu to watch the final in order to spite his wife. Every Birling Day Douglas attempts to steal the prized 25-year-old
Talisker single malt whisky intended for Mr Birling and sell it on while Carolyn and the rest of the crew try to stop him. In addition, Douglas and Martin, despite their personal differences and mutual animosity, also prove to be an effective and highly cooperative duo in some of the more dangerous situations. For example in the episode "
St Petersburg", when one of G-ERTI's engines fails after a lethal bird strike, they successfully work together to pull off an emergency landing, thus saving Carolyn and Arthur's lives as well as their own, although Carolyn is typically less grateful than the two pilots would prefer. Another recurring character is Captain Hercules "Herc" Shipwright (
Anthony Head), a former colleague of Douglas who now works at Scottish airline
Air Caledonia. Herc is an occasional rival to Douglas (partly due to Herc's refusal to consider Douglas for a position with Air Caledonia) and a love interest to Carolyn, though she is reluctant to reciprocate Herc's affections. Princess Theresa of
Liechtenstein (
Matilda Ziegler) appears in the final season, first appearing when she hires MJN to take her younger brother and ruling monarch, King Maxi, to Fitton so he can return to school. She and Martin begin a romantic relationship owing to their shared love of aeroplanes and childhood dreams of becoming pilots. In the two-part series finale, after a peculiar job interview in "
Yverdon-les-Bains", Martin has been offered a paid job at
Swiss Air, which means MJN has to close down and Gerti has to be sold. However when Gordon tries to purchase Gerti Arthur puts in a gigantic bid to stop his father from buying the plane. Douglas suspects that there is something valuable hidden on the plane and MJN manage to buy back Gerti. His suspicions prove correct when he discovers that in an effort to hide his wealth and assets Gordon had replaced all the copper wiring of the plane with gold, not expecting that Carolyn would get the plane in their divorce. Martin concludes he is a more skilled pilot than he thought, having been struggling in the past years with a poorly weighted plane, and the solution to Carolyn's financial problems has been right under her nose all along. Carolyn uses the money to secure the company's future, renaming it OJS Air ("Our Jet Still"), and buying buns for tea. In a fairy-tale ending, Martin takes up his new job securing paid employment with
Swiss Airways and living close to his girlfriend, Princess Theresa, in
Vaduz; Douglas is promoted to
Captain; and Herc — who accepts a downwards career move due to his affections for Carolyn — is hired as the new
First Officer. The series ends with OJS flying off into the sunset to
Addis Ababa, bringing the alphabetical progression of cities full circle. ==Reception==