We can't carry on as before, says Aurigny

Mark Darby, pictured, was steadfast in his belief that islanders could not have it all.

'We're almost in an impossible situation because expectations from different parts of the community change by the week – one minute we're getting beaten up because we're losing money and Aurigny shouldn't be making a loss, but the same people the next week, when they find we've tried to address the problem by reducing capacity, will complain because they can't get a seat – you can't have it both ways,' he said.

Mr Darby has just returned from a trip to Brazil to discuss with manufacturer Embraer the June delivery of the airline's new jet. The move, to cover Flybe's withdrawal from the Gatwick route, is expected to see Aurigny break even by 2015 – last year it made a loss of £3.5m. But its cost-cutting code-sharing agreement with Blue Islands on the Jersey route has proved controversial.

Sports teams have been the most critical, suggesting that the new service was inflexible, with short notice seats few and far between.

Mr Darby said islanders had to realise that carrying on as before was not financially sustainable.

'Any business has to try to match supply with demand as best it can otherwise it's extremely wasteful – that's what we've been doing, putting too many seats on the Jersey/Guernsey route in order to maintain market share, and it's flooded the market,' he said.