Air services, Anglesey / Cardiff

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Aviation company Highland Airways made a loss of more than ^400,000 in 2008, according to its latest accounts.
The airline has been in discussions with a potential investor after hitting financial troubles made worse by severe weather affecting flights.
Newly-published accounts have shown that it reported pre-tax losses of almost ^411,000 for 2008 on a turnover of ^10.5m.
The figures also show the airline was in debt by more than ^2m.
The details have been published by Companies House, the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) government's registrar of businesses.
On Thursday, Inverness-based Highland Airways refused to comment on its future involvement in a service between Cardiff and Anglesey in Wales.
Its contract with the Welsh Assembly ends in May and the route has been put out to tender.

Edit note: Topic heading updated, for clarity in subsequent discussions.  Chris.

[John R]

It's actually been retendered, as the first attempt to tender did not produce any acceptable bids. In other words, nobody want to run it, except for Highland, who I'm guessing may have failed the financial security requirements in the tender.

Now that the WAG^» (Welsh Assembly Government - about) express is running, maybe it's a good time to reconsider whether the flight is value for money.

[welshman]

As I said in another thread:-

18 seat Jetstream from Cardiff Wales Airport to RAF^▸ (Royal Air Force) Valley - 70 minutes each way and about ^85 return. 

The train is 4.5 hours or so each way and a return is ^71.80.

And I think there are a few more than 18 seats on the train.   Only the politicians use the aircraft.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Highland Airways goes into administration

A Scottish airline has been placed in administration, it has been announced.
Highland Airways called in PricewaterhouseCoopers on Wednesday night to take over the running of the business, which also operates in Wales.
Most of the company's 100 staff will lose their jobs. All of the airline's Thursday flights have been cancelled.
The Inverness-based airline's problems came to light at the start of the year after severe weather led to cancelled flights and worsening debts.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA^» (Civil Aviation Authority - about)) said operations had been suspended "with immediate effect".

[inspector_blakey]

Don't suppose there will be too many tears shed over the loss of that ridiculous North Wales - South Wales air service. I hate the phrase "pork barrel" politics but was there ever a better case in point? The Welsh Assembly express might run it a close second, but at least that can carry more than 18 passengers and provides a rare bit of loco haulage...

[JayMac]

.... and some cracking grub!

[Timmer]

.... and some cracking grub!

Yep it topped Barry Does recent annual review of train catering of all TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) that offer catering.

[welshman]

I spoke to a friend of mine who was a regular user.  The other day she used the service which was given permission to fly along the Cardigan Bay coast instead of the usual follow the Marches railway line route.  That meant a 30 minute flight from North to South.  Not even time for a cup of tea.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

New operator for Cardiff to Anglesey air service

An airline has begun taking new bookings for Wales' north-south air link, after being awarded the route.
Isle of Man-based Manx2.com, along with its partner carrier FLM Aviation, will resume the Cardiff-Anglesey service on Monday 10 May for seven months.
Previous operator, Highland Airways, ran the link since 2007 but went into administration last month.
A further tendering process will begin to appoint an operator for a four-year contract said the assembly government.
Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said the assembly government remained committed to maintaining the link which, he said, also played an important part in supporting economic development in north-west Wales.
"The Cardiff to Anglesey service has been hugely popular, with passenger numbers far exceeding our expectations," he said. "Manx2 is an established operator with a proven track record, who already has experience of operating the service from those occasions when Highland Airways had operational difficulties. "
Noel Hayes, chairman of Manx2.com, said: "As a Celtic neighbour, Manx2.com is delighted to have been chosen to reconnect Cardiff and Anglesey. With our home base just 50 miles away across the Irish Sea, we're excited about the prospect of bringing our award-winning service and our record of reliability and punctuality to this essential community route."
The Cardiff to Anglesey air link started in May 2007, with two flights a day both ways, attracting 40,000 passengers to date.
Manx2 began offering online bookings for new flights on Friday morning, with fares starting at ^39 for a one-way ticket.
The assembly government said a further tendering exercise would begin shortly at the European level to appoint an operator for a four-year contract.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Praise and blame over Welsh ministers' flight plans

An environmental group has praised Welsh government ministers for cutting flights they take, but criticised them for funding a north-south air link.
WWF said the assembly government had cut air travel by 42% since 2006 and gave it a "green" rating.
But it said the Anglesey-Cardiff flights were "completely unnecessary".
The assembly government said the air link "needs to be put into the context of the bigger transport picture".
WWF used Freedom of Information requests to examine the flights taken by 19 UK^▸ (United Kingdom) government deparments or bodies plus the three devolved UK administrations.
It found the assembly government cut its flights by 42% between 2006 and 2009, second only to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The report, Excess Baggage: the case for reducing government flying, gave the assembly government a green rating for its commitment to reducing flights taken by ministers, AMs and civil servants.
It found that in the last financial year the most used domestic flight by assembly government ministers, AMs and civil servants was Cardiff-Edinburgh, 168 times.
The top short haul route was Bristol-Brussels in Belgium, taken 30 times and the top long haul route was London-Luanda in Angola, used four times.
But WWF said there were "still issues to be addressed" if assembly ministers were "serious about limiting their impact on the environment through reducing flying".
It said the group had "major concerns" about the twice-a-day air link between Cardiff and Anglesey which was backed by up to ^2.4m from the assembly government over three years.
It said the flights undermined assembly government climate change targets and funding would be better spent on rail links.
The service had a two month break this year when the previous operator went into administration, but resumed last month when it was taken over by Isle of Man-based Manx2.
The service was dubbed "Ieuan Air" by Conservative AMs in 2008 when they revealed Deputy First Minister and Anglesey AM Ieuan Wyn Jones had used the service 42 times since its launch a year earlier.
WWF Cymru head Anne Meikle said: "WWF are of the opinion these flights are completely unnecessary and undermine the climate change and sustainability targets the Welsh Assembly Government themselves have set for Wales."
Friends of the Earth Cymru director Gordon James said: "If the assembly government aspires to be one of the greenest governments in the world, then it should not be subsidising this flight. It would be a sign of commitment to its climate change ambitions if the subsidy was invested in the north Wales rail link."
The Welsh Assembly Government said: "For the first time ever we now spend more on sustainable forms of transport than we do on more traditional areas like roads. As well as supporting the air link, we have improved north-south rail and road links and we are committed to further improving the reliability and speed of journeys between north and south."