A.V.M. Bennett, much decorated in the war for his exploits flying Lancaster bombers, was appointed to run British South American Airways (BSAA) straight after the war, using converted Lancasters as passenger aircraft and employing members of his wartime squadron as pilots. His was one of the first long-haul airlines, and he specialized in the South American routes. The Lancasters were wholly unsuited to the job and the airline had a phenomenally high accident rate. Bennett was operating on a shoestring, his pilots were often insufficiently experienced at flying the routes and the planes frequently had barely enough fuel to reach their destination. But enough people were prepared to pay #100 for the three-day flight and it wasn't until a number of planes had crashed with the loss of many lives that the airline finally lost its licence.