The move, and the reminder to new islands operator Loganair that it needs to be licensed to operate between Guernsey and Southampton, have been seen as moves to secure the island’s links and potentially secure Aurigny’s market position.
The announcement came as the Government of Jersey revealed that it had loaned Blue Islands £500,000 just a week before it pulled the plug on the airline and its total debt to the Jersey exchequer was now more than £9m.
‘This approach will support a long-term solution through a formal process, but will also enable travellers to make plans through the Christmas and New Year period,’ said Economic Development president Sasha Kazantseva-Miller yesterday.
Jersey said it was looking forward to a formal meeting being arranged to discuss how the islands could work together for sustainable inter-island and regional connectivity.
Guernsey’s push for a new licence for inter-island services risked pushing Loganair, as effectively Jersey’s new aviation partner, out of the picture for Guernsey.
‘Our priority since last Friday has been maintaining essential air links for the Channel Islands, especially between Jersey and the UK, and supporting passengers affected by the suspension of Blue Islands’ services,’ said the airline's CEO Luke Farajallah.
‘There’s still a great deal to do. We’re in constructive talks with the governments of Jersey and Guernsey about the best long-term solutions for islanders. It’s too early to share details, but we’re fully committed to finding a sustainable way forward.’
Guernsey’s licensed air routes up to this weekend were Gatwick, Alderney and Southampton. Economic Development met on Sunday and agreed to add Jersey to that list, and to open up licence applications from 15 January, to allow time to go through the process and not to interfere in Christmas travel. Previously any airline could have started services between Guernsey and Jersey.
Economic Development said that its decision was influenced by the collapse of Blue Islands, which has now been placed into liquidation, and concerns about the resilience of the route, the lack of inter-island ferry travel offered by the big market players, Brittany Ferries and DFDS, and the importance of being able to offer security of tenure on the route.
The committee’s move in the market was praised by former Loganair CEO Jonathan Hinkles, now managing director of Skybus, who had also acted as an adviser to Blue Islands for the past year.
He said the States was ‘absolutely right’ to prescribe a service standard in order to protect Guernsey-Jersey flights. ‘I applaud what they’ve done, I think it’s sensible and measured, and frankly, the only option they actually had.’
He said that the new inter-island services would not work in the long term, as they effectively precluded day trips.
‘If you have a timetable that doesn’t serve that market, you may as well not be in the market, because there’s going to be nobody on your aeroplane,’ he said.
‘You look at a route like Guernsey-Jersey, which supports 85-90,000 travellers a year, and say it needs to be served well by one airline, as opposed to it being served badly by two airlines.
‘I think it’s a recognition of that which is probably underpinning the States’ decision to nominate it as a lifeline route, so it can put those standards and stipulations into play.’
Policy & Resources Committee member Yvonne Burford, a former commercial pilot, said a single airline operating small aircraft on a more frequent schedule across Guernsey, Jersey and Alderney maintained that the ‘optimal’ solution, both financially and for the travelling public. The former pilot has promoted that idea in the States and earlier this year was successful with an amendment directing Policy & Resources to consider the idea.
‘Of course, the decision on route licensing that will now be needed is a matter for the Transport Licensing Authority and I don’t seek to prejudge those decisions, but I do believe that ultimately it can only sustain one carrier,’ she said.
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