Blue Islands
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| Founded | 1999 | |||
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| Hubs | Jersey Airport | |||
| Focus cities | Southampton Airport | |||
| Fleet size | 8 | |||
| Destinations | 7 | |||
| Parent company | Blue Islands Ltd | |||
| Headquarters | Saint Peter Port, Guernsey - Headquarters
Jersey - Operations Base |
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| Key people | Derek Coates (Chairman)
Paul Sabin (Managing Director) Shane Wolstenholme (Chief Pilot) |
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| Website | http://www.blueislands.com | |||
Blue Islands Limited is an airline of the Channel Islands. Its head office is in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, and its registered office is in Saint Anne, Alderney.[1] It operates scheduled services from and within the Channel Islands and the UK and the Isle of Man. Its main base of operations is Jersey Airport (JER). There is also a small hub and aircraft base at Alderney Airport (ACI).
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[edit] History
The airline was formally established in 2001 (but had been operating since 1999 in a small way) by Le Cocq's Stores in Alderney and was initially known as Le Cocq's Airlink. It started operations carrying perishable goods from Bournemouth to Alderney. Scheduled services were added on the same route on 1 February 2002. The Rockhopper name was adopted on 29 August 2003[2]. The company moved its main operating base from Alderney to Jersey in January 2006. Its Headquarters is now at Healthspan House, The Grange, St. Peter Port, Guernsey. The airline is wholly owned by the Healthspan Group[2].
The company changed the trading name from Rockhopper to Blue Islands on 14 February 2006. The move coincided with the delivery of the first of its new fleet of 19-seater BAe Jetstream aircraft and a new air link with the Isle of Man.
Since the launch of the BAe Jetstream aircraft on Inter-Island services Blue Islands has gained a majority share of the market from its competitor[citation needed], helped by the recent introduction of an hourly shuttle service between Guernsey and Jersey known as the "Blue Shuttle". At December 2007 Blue Islands estimated share of the Inter-Island market was reported to be over 50%[citation needed]. Blue Islands have also gone on to launch new routes from the Channel Islands to Paris-Beauvais (ceased July 2008), Southampton, Geneva and Zurich.
Blue Islands have been offering cargo services on all their flights throughout their network for a number of years. They flew in unique Madagascan birds for Durrell Conservation Wildlife Trust from Zurich during June 2009.[3]
Blue Islands have secured an Air Operator's Certificate to fly two ATR42-300 turboprops that they have wet leased from Skyblue Airways of Exeter, and they ran a test flight to London City Airport in mid-July, in an effort to expand their fleet. However they have denied that a service to London City Airport is planned.[4]
[edit] Destinations and Former Destinations
Blue Islands operates the following services (at March 2009)
- Crown dependencies:
- United Kingdom:
- International:
Blue Islands used to operate the following services, some when it was called Rockhopper:
- United Kingdom:
- International:
[edit] Fleet
The Blue Islands fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of 08 November 2009)[5]:
- 1 Britten-Norman Islander
- 2 Britten-Norman Trislander
- 3 BAe Jetstream 32EP
- 1 ATR 42-300
- 1 Dornier 328-110 (which is owned by ScotAirways) [6]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ "Contact Us." Blue Islands. Retrieved on 18 September 2009.
- ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International: p. 87. 2007-03-27.
- ^ "Blue Islands fly in unique birds for Durrell"http://www.blueislands.com/news?article_id=109
- ^ "Blue Islands go for ATR". Thisisguernsey.com. 17 July 2009. http://www.thisisguernsey.com/2009/07/13/blue-islands-goes-for-atr-licence-but-denies-city-link-is-imminent/.
- ^ UK Civil Aviation Authority Aircraft Register
- ^ G-BYHG with Blue Islands titles on 6 November 2007
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