Airline merger mooted to retain major player

AURIGNY and Blue Islands could merge to create a 'major player' airline, according to Derek Coates.

The Blue Islands chairman made the suggestion at a meeting yesterday to discuss Commerce and Employment's air route licensing proposals.

He expressed concerns that they could hurt smaller airlines.

'I believe this system will result in a dominant carrier and I believe it will be Flybe,' said Mr Coates. 'That way we lose control of our destiny and we are in their hands. I don't wish for that as a Guernsey person.

'One long-term solution would be a merger of Blue Islands and Aurigny to create an airline with the strength to be a major player,' he said.

Speaking in front of an audience of States members, Mr Coates said the island must maintain control of its destiny by ensuring Guernsey-friendly airlines survived and were not killed off by monopolistic external companies.

That would happen, he said, if the States passed the proposals to adopt what he said amounted to an open skies policy, but which the department described as liberalisation.

He said it was a bad idea to allow a dominant airline to have control of when it flies.