Jersey European domestic services in the UK were operated after JEA became a UK registered company. to operate Dundee to London Blue Islands would have to form a UK company and I can't see them being remotely interested in operating DND-LON

Jersey European domestic services in the UK were operated after JEA became a UK registered company. to operate Dundee to London Blue Islands would have to form a UK company and I can't see them being remotely interested in operating DND-LON

GR/BI Prices
 

Anyone noticed that since they announced GR/BI sharing aircraft from mid march on GCI-JER route how much BI prices have gone up. BI use to be between £37 and £45 for decent times of day flights. Now even booking months in advance they are £52.00 (granted a few during the crap times are £40.00). I thought this joint venture was agreed by the states to keep costs down yet they have gone up !!!

Blue Islands GCI-SOU
 

Rumours out of the Blue hangar is that they are set to announce a 4th rotation to SOU daily starting next month. Does this move mean a Flybe pull out on the route or merely just an escalation in hostilities?! No idea what the loads are. Anyone got any clues?

SOU - GCI route
 

BBC CI confirmed today that BI will operate an extra rotation on the route, confirming the above post. A quick look at their website suggests that loads are good. The BBC item states that BI have experienced a 44 percent increase in PAX year on year.


Pete

Blue Islands recently announced on their website that they are due to get another ATR-72 in October for their Southampton rotation. Though, I wonder, will this be based in Guernsey or Jersey?

Blue drop SOU - Jersey route
 

BBC CI stated tonight that Blue is dropping its Soton -Jersey route as it withdraws Jetstream from service. FlyBe agree to accommodate PAX who had booked BCI - opposite to what has happened on GCI route!

According to this news article Blue claim they could return to the route next summer..




Blue Islands is suspending its Jersey to Southampton route - ITV News

Do we know who they sold the 2 j32's to??? Linksair would be a good contender

Blue have today announced that they will cease flying direct European services from Jersey, the exception being winter ski flights. They have also signed a codeshare deal with Cityjet and are hoping to feed passengers to ZRH/CDG/AMS via LCY.


Blue Islands enters codeshare with Cityjet - Business News | businesslife.co

Not a good day for SI.

Zurich, Amsterdam and Paris closing today along with Geneva going winter only and Southampton from Jersey in late October bringing the total to four routes gone and one seriously reduced within just over a month. But then old habits die hard, and SI management have always (even right back before the days Slasher Sabin) had a tendency to slash and burn. Grand total now up to 21 since 2001...

At least growth of JER-LCY to 3x daily is something of a boon, and loads/yields seem positive. Whether pax buy into the codeshare remains to be seen, but what has been sacrificed in direct connectivity has at least been replaced by regularity.

We know the Wetdreams are off (at last) - but an ATR is now liberated. All I know is there's a DAT AT7 sitting in GCI on ACMI currently keeping up the SOU route during fleet maintenance downtime, and that must be costing a penny or three. Bets on what will happen to spare capacity? To cull or not to cull?

Aero Mad, what on earth are you going on about? You are a self confessed ACI/Aurigny Aviation Historian that hasn't even got off the rock to go to university yet. But you are the expert on how SI are doing?!

As much as I'm rather annoyed that they've cut the continental direct flights (I had a Disney return flight booked) I have used their services several times, and the loads were generally not great on the continentals.

As a historian, how many direct continental routes have survived from various airlines over the years? As a historian, running a small regional airline with several types works does it? As an Alderney resident, how's it going with your lifeline routes with GR after the vast majority of rock residents told SI to go jump?

HWY4A, if you want to know what I'm on about then re-read my post. Incidentally, if you'd even bothered to do the slightest bit of research before suggesting that I 'hadn't even got off the rock yet' then you'd have found out I am not a resident of Alderney, and never have been. I've actually gone straight into a job and intend to go to university next year - but as an aside, frankly it's news to me that the many people on PPRuNe and elsewhere who haven't been to university ('yet' or otherwise) are not entitled to hold opinions?? Nope, actually it's not news - it's just a tad offensive.

Indeed, I'm no 'expert' on SI, nor on GR or anything to do with the Channel Islands. I just sit down and chronicle to the best of my ability what others don't bother to whilst there are still enough people around to remember what's worth recording. If you'd prefer to do that yourself and give me a few weeks of my life every year back which I could be using scoffing Dominos while watching films with friends then you're quite welcome to.

Ignoring the initial premise, DC on the one hand declared four years ago (19 Jul 2010, BBC) that there was 'currently no realistic alternative aircraft' to the Trislander whilst on the other spending most of another interview (16 Jul 2010, Alderney Journal) describing the Tris as 'OAPs of the sky... they might only have three years left'. Even if he didn't mean to scaremonger unnecessarily, insodoing he far from helped his case. I think most people in Alderney see GR as no angel; no charity but much prefer the devil they've known for just a little over 45 years. Today, the lifelines are seeing unprecedented investment and although transition has obviously been very poor, things are looking very positive in the medium-term. Old ground.

I wasn't criticising the decision to sell the Jetstreams (not quite sure you reached that conclusion), nor the decision to cut the continental routes - but merely commenting on SI's well-proved propensity to do so. It's because I'm not an 'expert' that I wrote to ask what the consensus was on what was to happen to spare capacity released from the dropping of these routes. So shall we get back to thread?

Aero Mad, you have a propensity to treat anything SI with disdain and you obviously bleed yellow. This is easily proved by looking at your post history.

You are correct that this is a rumour network, and to be honest, I usually stay away from it for the following reason. It's a professional pilots rumour network, especially the threads to do with specific airlines. You are not a professional pilot and have absolutely no experience regarding what is involved in running a successful airline. You should be on the spotters forum and leave it to the professionals. I am a pilot (and no, I don't work for either airline) and I'm involved in operational management. I happen to live in Jersey and commute to work. I've used both airlines in the past, and prefer SI. The fact that GR have literally no presence left in Jersey also helps. Blue Islands have come a long way in a short space of time and should be congratulated for that and supported as a local business in the CI's.

As I stated in my earlier post, several CI airlines have attempted direct continental services over the years. They don't work as the market isn't big enough to sustain regular services. SI have attempted them, and have now done the next best thing, agreeing a codeshare with City Jet, and there is more to follow apparently. As stated, this affects me directly as I use them to commute. Annoyed? I am a bit. Understanding? Yes I am.

If you are offended by this post, or my previous one, that wasn't my intention. However, you have a tendency to literally 'chuck a grenade' into a forum just to stir trouble. Certainly not expert status.

With the JER-AMS/ZRH/CDG/GVA/SOU routes axed or about to be axed, how many aircraft are kept busy with the remaining schedules? If I haven't missed one, I think we are now down to just four routes:

- JER-GCI 6x/d.
- JER-LCY 3x/d.
- JER-BRS 2x/d.
- GCI-SOU 4x/d

Looks like 3 aircraft schedule to me - with, IIRC, five ATR on strength, is one destined to go?

Thanks virginblue, despite other distractions that was my original question! If RV acts on his hints when JER-SOU was suspended initially, it's possible that it will go towards head-to-head competition on the route with BE eventually?

Virgin, SI always keep a spare operational a/c. In fact, it may be a requirement of the codeshare agreement with GR, but don't quote me on that. Therefore, 4 required, 5 in the fleet.

Thanks. If I am not mistaken, the ATR72 does GCI-SOU, so the four ATR42s share JER-GCI/LCY/BRS between them.

One does five GCI rotations, the second BRS plus the first/last GCI/JER of the day (overnighting in GCI) and the third does LCY. So indeed there is one spare - plus two sitting idle on the ground at JER for a number of hours each day.

Good that SI operates some written down early ATR42-320 that allow for such a lenghty parking exercise.:ok: One has to wonder if they are looking for a noon-time flight to somewhere in the south of England to keep the BRS aircraft a bit busier.

BI Routes
 

If they now have a spare AT42 they could restart JER- SOU

Don't think Blue Islands would be able to fill an ATR42 on JER-SOU, given that BE is also on that route with a Q400.

Don't forget they managed to squeeze BE from 4x daily to once a day on SOU-GCI when they introduced the ATR 72 to the route, I wouldn't put it past them!

Handling
 

Rumor have it the fools at BCI are considering self handling (again)!

Any thoughts on the idea, my opinion is it cannot be cost effective.

Back to Servisair?

I heard that rumour from a member of blue staff a week or two back, I doubt they will ever get the high calibre of staff they had before they dumped them in favour of a handling agent. Blue Islands once good customer service is a thing of the past & RV and his merry men have only themselves to blame.

Blue News
 

Island FM news webpage has story that BI has good news for GCI but can't say what it is yet. Anyone know anything or can speculate what?

Pete

They've been talking of opening a customer care desk in the terminal similar to what they have in JER. They were waiting on space. There's plenty now that the Flybe ticket desk has gone. Perhaps this could be it. Either that or a decent new route.

What's your idea of "A Decent New Route" ? And, which one would be viable ?

Could it be that they are taking over the ever decreasing handling business of Menzies & thus have their own GCI ground handling unit once again?

Emergency landing at Southend
 

Believe it was the Blue Islands JER-LCY

Not sure if it was the ATR or jetstream?

Now that is a "crew well done" if ever there was.

Give me engines on a pylon any time. Spars do lose strength very quickly when exposed to the heat of an uncontained fire!

ATR42 G-ISLF.

Good job by flight and ground crew.

Interesting to learn that the engines are "propeller-powered", I always thought that engines were fuel-powered !

Emergency landing at Southend
 

Good shot of the Vulcan in the background too when you open up the BBC link :)

Emergency landing this morning
 

Fascinates me that an engine fire on a Flybe flight warrants it's own thread in the rumours and news section but Blue Islands? No we will just merge it in to the Blue Islands thread thus in effect removing the story and subject of conversation.

It's getting a little selective as to what is left and what isn't now a days and that is rather disappointing.

What fascinates me is the way this event has been sensationalised as an engine fire when in fact the crew reported and engine fire INCDIATION, shut down the engine, triggered the engine fire retardant, and diverted. On inspection the engine showed no sign of a fire, so it points to an erroneous indication.

Well said gkmeeh sounds like a professional job done by the crew

Just how old are these ATR 42s? Presumably they are more prone to faults like these

They range from 17 years - 28 years through the fleet, aircraft involved was the youngest

blue islands ATR-42 G-ISLG is squawking 7700 looks to be diverting to SEN