Blue Islands seeks Bristol route licence
Wednesday 4th March 2009, 11:30AM GMT.
BLUE Islands wants to compete with Aurigny on the Bristol route.
Commerce and Employment will now consider whether to grant it a licence.
Blue Islands chairman Derek Coates (pictured) said Bristol was an important city and one of the largest business centres in the south.
‘This fits naturally with our philosophy to serve the business cities of Europe,’ he said.
‘We also believe that the tourist and leisure market can be stimulated through this gateway to the west and south-west of England.
This route needs a second operator as the current incumbent has cut capacity and frequency by almost 40% over the winter.’
Mr Coates said that in 2008 compared to the previous year there was a reduction in passenger carryings of 11%.
Blue Islands wants to provide a twice-daily service.
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I feel this is going to be a big ask for the states to consider. The loss of a monopoly and welcoming competition on an already huge loss making states funded airline?
Best of luck to Blue Islands though!
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I hope this initiative will persuade Aurigny to re-instate its twice daily service.
Blue Islands have been a bonus for the Bailiwick.
Competition on routes can be beneficial to travellers but Guernsey needs more routes opened up as well and perhaps the focus should be in that direction.
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This guy is a legend. He is creating fair priced travel for locals and visitors alike, complimentary drinks and snacks in a private waiting area. It’s about time we had some fair competition in the local aviation industry, rather than flybe dominating popular domestic routes. One point that could be an option for Blue islands would be to offer reduced rate standby tickets to fill their planes which can sometimes be rather empty.
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Who does Dereck Coates think he is ; Richard Branson ?!!!!.
He always thinks he can “do it” better than anyone else.
He declared when Blue Islands were first granted a license in Alderney that he would fly to Cherbourg this has never happened. That Blue Islands would take up the direct Alderney to Jersey route – now dropped apart from a token late afternoon flight a couple of days a week and return next morning – no good for a shopping trip !!. And in turn this lead to Aurigny dropping the route as it barely made a profit for them but they kept it going to provide a service but, it wouldn’t support two Airlines who need to make a profit.
Why not stick to his routes and leave Aurigny alone. I assume he is a tax payer and therfore has some interest in what happens to Aurigny !!!????
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This is going to be very similar to the Sark Shipping and Travel Trident debate.
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I have a lot of time for Blue Islands and regularly use their services to Jersey and Switzerland. I think it most unfortunate however that they wish to compete on an existing route, rather than open more strategic services such as London City, or a serious twice daily service to Paris for example. I appreciate the benefits of competition and the challenges of balancing these but some co-ordination of routes served and slot timings would benefit users, the economy and airlines in the long term. Step in Commerce and Employment perhaps?
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Good luck to a very nice airline who values its custermers i hope you dont forget us as other airlines have done
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No chance of any original routes then? Why do most airlines in Guernsey always fly to a destination already served by another airline. I would suggest that they are usually scared of taking a risk of setting up a new route, and find it easier to poach the passengers of another airline.
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As a tax payer, alderneygirl, it would be better to let aurigny fight against market forces as Branson does. His airline like Blue Islands is in private ownership and does not rely on the tax payer to bail it out. Aurigny sadly is becoming a defunct state run airline, poor aircraft, poor service, and an arrogance which astounds me. Blue islands provide a vastly superior flying experience. Its wake up time in these islands and the demise of Aurigny is only the start.
Do you think if we the tax payer had not bailed it out it would still be operating? open skies with some protection on core routes is the way forward but not protection so that poor airlines like Aurigny can fly without facing market forces let the best win. Aurigny would not stand a chance and thats why the states will no doubt turn down the Bristol licence application. Wayne makes a good point and i think it is one that BI are looking at.
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Alderney girl: Business is about fair competition. Blue islands is aiming to achieve this, meaning better prices for the consumer due to healthy competition and increased routes creating convenience for the consumer . If it wasn’t for Aurigny and blue islands, Flybe would be charging extortionate prices. In a small island like Guernsey competition should always be welcomed to avoid a monopolistic market. Derek Coates is a local taxpayer, thus putting back into the local economy and supporting the likes of Aurigny. Also let’s not forget Derek Coates has supported Bright young things, helping to develop talented individuals who are the future of the island. This man and his business ethics cannot be faulted in my opinion; he is a well rounded individual who puts back into the local economy and community.
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Will be interesting to see how long they last flying to Bristol. Cardiff didn’t last long ( a route with no incumbent at the time) and Jersey – Southampton has quietly disappeared!
Mark I agree. Look at Flybe in the UK Liverpool Isle of Man now a monopoly where they took on the local Manx airline and pushed them off.
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I have a lot of time for DC. I’m sure what he is doing isn’t totally altruistic, but he is, with his wealth at least attempting to benefit Guernsey.
He earns here and invests here; he doesn’t have to, but he does. Best of luck to him.
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Use your imagination! Think outside the box for once! Pick a route not already covered, then you get all of the customers. Maybe send everyone a survey to see what the most popular destinations are and work off of that.
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There’s a huge area to be tapped north of Manchester. Try Newcastle – one of the most fantastic cities in the UK, with huge populations (Teesside/Sunderland) nearby.
Us northeners have given up woad now!
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oh yes please. Newcastle would be ideal. At the moment it’s a near 6 hour trek from Guernsey to Newcastle via either Jersey, Exeter,Southampton or Gatwick and Flyebe charge you bags for each sector of the flight even though they are advertised as through fares!
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