No-frills airline sparks price war with £25 flights
IRN BRU and Tunnock’s Tea Cakes will be among the inflight offerings from a new, Scottish, low-cost airline which was launched yesterday.
Air-Scotland.com confirmed it would start scheduled flights from Edinburgh and Glasgow to six Spanish destinations from March. Services from Aberdeen will begin in May or June, while the airline could also operate on other routes from Prestwick. Future plans include flights to the Caribbean and Australia.
The airline’s arrival is certain to spark a bitter price war with Globespan, which will face competition on three of its routes from Edinburgh. Globespan’s new airline offshoot, Flyglobespan.com, will also operate daily between Prestwick and Palma against its rival’s thrice-weekly service from Glasgow.
Air-Scotland.com said its fares would start at £25 one way, while Flyglobespan.com’s begin at £49.
Dhia Al-Ani, the Iraqi-born owner of the Glasgow holiday firm group behind Air-Scotland.com, said he hoped to acquire a wide-bodied Boeing 767 to start Caribbean flights from November. Services to Australia via Dubai and Singapore could follow in two to three years’ time.
The internet-based firm will use two Boeing 757-200 planes owned by Electra Airlines for its services. The new airline, which is based in Glasgow, said it expected to fill some 60 per cent of seats with charter passengers on this year’s flights, which end in November.
Mr Al-Ani’s Luxuryclass travel group, which includes Viva Holidays and Discount Holidays, previously used other airlines for its package tours. Air-Scotland.com will fly from Edinburgh three times a week to Barcelona, twice a week to Palma and once a week to Alicante, Malaga and Fuerteventura. It will fly three times a week from Glasgow to Barcelona as well as Palma, and once a week to Tenerife. Its Edinburgh services will compete with Flyglobespan.com on the Barcelona, Palma and Malaga routes.
Mr Al-Ani said he expected the services to attract more Spanish visitors to Scotland. He also pledged to offer other Scottish produce on board to promote the food industry.
He said: "We are hoping to be a Scottish national carrier, but with a lot more destinations in the future."
The businessman added he was disappointed not to have received Scottish Executive assistance under its £6 million route development programme, but the Executive said talks were continuing.
Globespan last night warned that the routes may not support two airlines. Tom Dalrymple, its managing director, pledged to match its rivals’ prices. He said: "Air-Scotland’s decision puts us into an aggressive, head-to-head stance.
"I hope the market is big enough for both of us, but I am not certain.
"Scotland is a small population area, and if there was an easy market here, one of the other low-cost airlines like EasyJet or Ryanair would be operating on these routes."
Donal Dowds, the managing director of BAA Scottish Airports, which runs Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports, said the new airline would be unlike previous "Scottish" carriers, such as British Caledonian, because it was based north of the Border.
He said: "This is a very different proposition and I think it has tremendous potential."