Air Southwest says it is looking at its route structure for next year with several key cities highlighted for expansion.
A spokesman for the Plymouth-based carrier says: ”We are carrying out a route development evaluation at the moment for summer 2008, with Plymouth, Newquay and Bristol identified as areas for development.”
Air Southwest is essentially the major part of Brymon Airways, which was created in the 1970s and is credited, together with John Mowlem with the invention of London City Airport. Former Loganair managing director, Jim Cameron has recently been installed as CEO and had a previous spell in Plymouth as BA sales manager during its tenure.
Brymon was subsequently taken over by British Airways (BA) and in 2003, together with Plymouth City Airport, was sold to Sutton Harbour Holdings, a listed company, based locally.
Cameron says that he is reviewing all aspects of the airline, which currently operates five Dash 8s. In spite of a disappointing 2006, Sutton Harbour has a positive outlook with funds available for new aircraft. 2007 has been a year of consolidation, with passengers carried totalling around 300,000, and the airline plans to expand in 2008.
The airline recently withdrew from Cardiff, from where it operated to Newquay and Manchester, but operates a four-times daily Gatwick (triangular) route via Newquay.
BA introduced a daily 737 service from Gatwick direct to Newquay airport earlier this year and it does not seem to have affected numbers (they have actually gone up), but it has reduced yields.
Besides Gatwick, Plymouth has services to Jersey and Bristol, which connect to other northbound flights. From Newquay, Air Southwest flies to Bristol, Cork, Dublin, Leeds Bradford and Manchester; Bristol is connected to Jersey, Leeds Bradford and Manchester.
A point-to-point operator, Air Southwest is not linked to any other carrier. Cameron believes that under the present management, BA is not looking at any new franchises, with even the successful Loganair partnership under review.
A more flexible ticketing approach is also a possibility for Air Southwest: ”We are looking at a variety of pricing initiatives to ensure that we continue to meet the needs of both business and leisure customers,” the spokesperson said.
Plymouth Airport dates back to the early days of aviation when the city was a major navy base. It was established on the airline map in 1981 when services were introduced to Heathrow, but these were lost when BA decided to use the slots for other routes.
While Plymouth is a major city with a population of 250,000 and 354km (220mi) from London by road, the airport suffers from limited runway length, the 1,160m (3,800ft) useable length only suitable for 50-seat turboprops, typically the Bombardier Dash 8-300. Passenger throughput in 2006 was 80,000, down from the previous year, a major factor being the collapse of Air Wales.