"I don't see them wanting to spend 5 hours ina ancient 733 configured for SAF internals"

better than a week plus each way on an old boat which is the current option

But considered cheaper than building and operating a replacement ship for the RMS St Helena.

of course ships will still have to go there but it will be a commerical service when there's enough freight

probably 2-3 times a year I'd guess

The aircraft are new 737-800s, fully ETOPs compliant, with more on order for delivery 2016(?), in BA livery.
BA/Comair have the airport integrated into their simulator in Johannesburg.
All the islands supplies, food and fuel will still have to come in by sea.
Tourism is just a red-herring so that the relevant civil servants in the UK can give some sort of justification for the expenditure.
A ship to replace RMS St Helena would have been much cheaper in the short, medium and perhaps even long term. It just sounds so nineteenth century.
The Saints (islanders) wanted to have the service to Cape Town, as many have family and friends living there, and they are familiar with local hospitals.
Does anyone know the ICAO and IATA codes? Tried googling it but no answer.

Hmmm - quite a lot of the Falklands Islands food comes in by air from Chile once a week in the LAN flight - plenty of space and weight available out of Punta Arenas

I'd expect the same for St Helena..........

IATA: HLE – ICAO: FHSH

Thank you 750XL.

HH
SCCI - EGYP 459 nm
SCCI - FHSH 3748 nm
EGYP - FHSH 3292 nm
Even Walvis Bay, FYWB - FHSH is 1221 nm.
GC tracks taken from Jeppe.
Don't think air supply is going to happen, unless we have something like the Berlin Airlift.
I have spent time on the Island, everything has to be brought in. Fuel for the return flights will come in via the sea.

Well it'll be interesting to see jiust how many passengers they average - they should still be able to get a reasonable amount of cargo in the hold

TUI-fly is the German brand of TUI rather than the British TUI, so does mean these flights will be undertaken by German registered aircraft rather than the UK registered aircraft if TUI Thomson?

ALL TUI owned airlines are to be rebranded as TUI - the Thomson name will be gone soon. Therefore it may be a UK registered aircraft.

This article, in German, states that the flights will be operated by TUI Netherlands (which was until last month known as Arke): Auftrag von Atlantic Star Airlines: Tui fliegt auf Napoleoninsel St. Helena - aeroTELEGRAPH

Gent quoted in the press release is from Arkefly so its fair to assume this will be on a Dutch unit.

I stand to be corrected but I don't think TUI 738's on the G- register are ETOPS.

They certainly don't have a two class cabin as stated in the press release.

update from Atlantic Star
 

Tickets for flights between the UK and St. Helena will go on sale at midday on Monday 2nd November 2015.

These flights, operated as charters by TUI-fly, will link the UK with St. Helena direct for the first time in history. In recognition of the event Atlantic Star and TUI-fly have allocated the flight number OR1502 for the southbound flight, reflecting the year St. Helena was discovered. The northbound flight will be the OR2002, the year that citizens of the British Overseas Territories became British Citizens.

An Economy ticket will cost £1299 including all taxes and charges. This price includes a 15kg hold baggage allowance and a 5kg carry on bag. Seating is 6 abreast with a 30” seat pitch. Service on board will include a meal on each sector and a complimentary bar serving both soft drinks and alcoholic beverages.

Economy Plus prices start at £1799 and includes an extra 3” of legroom, 4 abreast seating, sparkling wine included in the bar offering, executive lounge access and Fast Track through security at Gatwick.

Child seats are available at £799 which is less than the industry standard 2/3 of an adult fare reflecting Atlantic Star’s commitment to providing opportunities for families to travel to and from St. Helena.

Ticket sales will be conducted on behalf of Atlantic Star by TravelPack Ltd, a fully ATOL bonded and long-established UK travel agency, and can be purchased, from 2nd November, via our website or at the TravelPack Wembley shop. Tickets can also be purchased in person at Solomons travel shop in Jamestown, St. Helena.

END

Last word from the "e"

the contract is between Atlantic Star and TUI-fly and we as ppruners are not privy to the small print of how this will be accomplished, at least as yet. But the key players are I think being very forthcoming so there is little need to speculate. Also there is a lot yet to be done, most work is going swimmingly but there are some issues to be addressed that may delay timing. If you have not visited the St Helena Access website access site then do. OK phone lines are expensive and mail is slow but facts beat all. Especially as St Helenans answer phones in person without being told by an automated voice that your call is important to us blah blah for the next five minutes while your call charges go through the roof.

Still sailing......

Thanks for the news on Atlantic Star, Enicalyth. Further to that info more details from Atlantic Star's website:

The countdown begins to ticket sales for our historic first flights



Will they be weight restricted because of the length of the runway at St Helena or will the two class layout reduce the mtow enough to avoid this?

Sorry about the part duplication but I posted before seeing Es last posting!

thinks....
 

If you research companieshouse.gov.uk one can access details including history for any company. These days you do not need a gumshoe to check the premises out when Google Earth can do if for you.

Latest news via the Atlantic Star website shows a delay in the opening of the airport.

Atlantic Star Airlines shares news of delay to opening date of St.Helena Airport



November 7, 2015


|


Atlantic Star Airlines





On Friday the team at Atlantic Star Airlines received notification from St.Helena Government of a short delay in the opening of St.Helena Airport, originally planned for February 2016 (see below).

The length of the delay has not yet been fully determined but SHG remain confident that the airport will be operational by the time of the official airport opening in May 2016.

It is unlikely that Atlantic Star's first flights from the UK to St.Helena will now take place at Easter 2016 - we will be consulting with our partners over the next few days to determine new dates that will be attractive both to Saints and visitors to St.Helena.

The team at Atlantic Star would like to emphasise that this eventuality was included in the contractual arrangements associated with the UK-St.Helena charter programme and as such the programme remains in place and commitments such as flight pricing will be unaffected by the delay.

We will continue to work with the Airport Access Team at SHG to establish the best course of action going forward and will of course communicate this to you, our friends and future customers, as soon as more information is available.





AIRPORT BOARD GRANTS ADDITIONAL TIME TO ACHIEVE OPERATIONAL READINESS

The St Helena Airport Programme Board – comprising SHG, DFID, FCO and Basil Read – yesterday recommended that it would be necessary and prudent to grant a short period of additional time in order to fine tune the operational readiness of St Helena Airport.
The Programme Board does not anticipate a significant revision to the commencement date for commercial flights beyond the original projected date of late February 2016, but has recommended this pragmatic step now so that we can conclude the calibration works and other preparations for safe and secure commercial operations. Executive Council Members are in agreement, and we have conveyed this decision to Comair and Penspen.
Subject to final certification and operational readiness, the Board still expects St Helena Airport to be accepting commercial flights before the planned Official Opening of the Airport in May 2016.
As before, a decision on when to sell tickets for Comair flights will be made only when the Airport has been certified. To that end, we expect the regulator, Air Safety Support International, to visit St Helena in January 2016 to carry out a full inspection audit of the Airport’s compliance with aviation regulations and that will inform a decision on ticket sale timing.
SHG
6 November 2015

Announcement by Atlantic Star 31 October
 

Even before St. Helena Government announced the delay of the opening of the airport, on 31 October Atlantic Star had announced the following:

We regretfully inform you of a delay to commencement of ticket sales, originally planned for Monday. The reasons for the delay are complex, and in the spirit of maintaining open and honest communications we will share them with you.

In our ongoing dialogue with the Airport Access Team at SHG it has been brought to our attention a regulation that lies within the Air Navigation Order pertaining to the British Overseas Territories requiring us to have a specific Permission to go on sale. The team at SHG highlighted this to us this week and we are grateful to them for doing so. In no way are SHG trying to prevent Atlantic Star from operating from the UK to St. Helena but they are, quite rightly, making sure that we operate on a firm regulatory footing.

The specific regulation which we need to satisfy arises from the fact that we are not using a British carrier to operate the flights; TUI-fly will be using an aircraft operated by TUI Netherlands, registered in Holland. The aviation legislation that covers the British Overseas Territories is very unusual in that in certain areas it makes a distinction between British and non-British carriers. Almost all European aviation related legislation applies Europe-wide and carriers that are accredited in any one country share rights across all countries. Previously, when intending to use Titan Airways, the particular regulation did not apply, and the implications of using a replacement Dutch carrier were in this area overlooked. Atlantic Star take full responsibility for this oversight, it is our mistake, certainly not a mistake by SHG or TUI-fly.

Unlike the French overseas Departments, the U.K. Overseas territories are not part of the EU. As such presumably any non-UK carrier would require cabotage rights for what is essentially a domestic service - by the "letter of the law" I'm pretty sure they'd also need to secure non-objections from all UK carriers capable of operating the service before the Department for Transport would consider agreeing to give them permits.

News of the second calibration flight, with thanks to the St. Helena Independent :
Second Calibration Flight Planned for
Next Week
Plans are made for the second calibration flight to the St Helena
Airport. The first flight in September revealed that there were
problems with the performance of the DVOR (Doppler VHF
Omni Directional Radio Range) and the Localizer. These installations
have now been moved and the navigational instruments
should be ready for inspection through a calibration
flight. It has been suggested that the plane from South Africa
-led by Flight Calibration Services Limited (FCSL) working
with TAB Charters will be arriving next Saturday 12th December
and will continue the flights over the Island until 20th December.
After the initial calibration flight in September it immediately
stood clear that a second flight was needed and, at that stage,
staff involved guessed that a second flight could be undertaken
‘towards the end of the year’ . This now appears to
have come into fruition. It should be said that this schedule is
still subject to change. It is not known who has to pay the
additional cost for the further flight, Thales who installed the
equipment in the first place, Basil Read as the Design, build,
Operate contractor or DfID/SHG as the client. It would be
interesting to know.