AURIGNY’S managing director believes those who were sceptical about the States taking over the airline have been proved wrong. Today marks the first anniversary of the decision to buy Aurigny for £5m. in order to protect the island’s links with Gatwick.

‘The thing I’m most proud of is that we have actually used less than one third of the money that the States set aside for the development of our business,’ said Malcolm Hart.

‘That’s particularly important as there were worries at the time that airlines were bottomless pits and that state-owned airlines were a thing of the past and just haemorrhaged cash.’

Aurigny now has full control of four pairs of prime-time Gatwick slots, which was the main reason for the buyout.

Mr Hart recently attended a conference at the House of Commons aimed at protecting regional links with Gatwick and Heathrow.

‘We are the only region that has access guaranteed for ever and we were held up as an example of perhaps the way forward for other regions,’ he said.

The airline has flown 100,000 people on its Gatwick route in its first year of operation.

‘It’s fair to say that those people would not otherwise have moved between Guernsey and Gatwick had we not come on the service when British Airways pulled out – and that’s a fair contribution to the Guernsey economy.’

Last year Aurigny carried 398,000 passengers, a figure that is expected to rise to 560,000 this year. The airline was the 89th-largest regional one in the world last year and this year will climb into the top 50.

In 2003, Aurigny and its sister company, Anglo Normandy Aeroengineering, employed a total of 260. The figure has now risen to 360.

Mr Hart said Aurigny was keen to develop its Bristol route.

In 2003, it ran one service daily using a 33-seater Saab aircraft and now it has two, using the 66-seater ATR 72.

Mr Hart said Aurigny was a big contributor to the running costs of Guernsey Airport and from the £1.6m. it paid in 2003, the figure this year will be about £2.4m.

‘One of the best things that has happened this year is that Anglo Normandy has become an approved service centre for ATR aircraft.’

The company has just undertaken its largest job to date and an ATR 72 that has been in its workshop since January for a major refit is due to leave next week. The project has involved more than 5,000 man-hours.

Only five service centres are licensed to work on ATR aircraft.

‘Quality procedures must all be audited and it’s another big string to our bow in terms of the spread of activities that the company does.

‘The more spread you have, the less risky an airline is.’

Mr Hart said that, a year on, he could categorically say there had been no political interference in the running of the companies.

Much of the credit for that, he said, should go to retired banker Stephen Jones, the man appointed by the States as their chairman.

The system works well, he added.

But Mr Hart is taking nothing for granted and he said consolidation would be the key to Aurigny’s future.

‘Five years ago, Aurigny was a tiny company flying Trislanders around and you must make sure that you don’t grow too big too soon.

‘The island has us as an insurance policy and were other things to change in the marketplace, we are always here to take up the slack.’

He conceded there had been ‘growing pains’ and that the punctuality of the company’s aircraft during April was not good enough. A large part of that problem was the new airport terminal, he said.

‘I’m really looking forward to when the old terminal is down and access to aircraft becomes better.

‘There’s been a huge amount going on in the business relating to the new airport terminal. We’ve been recruiting pilots, cabin crew and engineers and the learning curve has been really steep. I’m delighted to say that it’s starting to settle down.’