BACX axe IOM routes
No surprise I know but this appeared on the Manx radio web site this morning:
BA CitiExpress are to drop four of their routes to the Isle of Man in the Spring.
Those are currently operated by ATP aircraft, which are being dropped from the fleet.
The routes being axed are to Birmingham, Dublin, Glasgow and Liverpool, going in April 2004.
BA CitiExpress will be left with what they term their key business routes, Gatwick, Luton and Manchester.
But they say they are actively talking with carriers who are interested in taking up the routes they are dropping.
Transport Minister, John Shimmin, is putting a positive slant on things, saying that the announcement opens up the routes for carriers who see this as an opportunity and not, though he does'nt say so, as something of a financial millstone.
One airline obviously enthusiastic to be involved in the Liverpool route is Emerald, which is currently a freight carrier only.
Their CEO, Mick O' Brien, says the right arrangement needs to be made, particulary regarding passenger tax, to make to route viable.
The possiblity of job losses is still to be discussed.
Transport and General Workers Union District Secretary, Bernard Moffat, was at a meeting with the Airline yesterday in Manchester, but no word has come out of that meeting as yet.
On the positive side, David Evans, Managing Director, BA CitiExpress, says they will continue to invest in " our highly successful engineering base in the Isle of Man and we expect to announce some specific plans in the near future.