An airline entrepreneur nicknamed Baby Branson has launched a low-cost airline service between Oxford and the North East.
Martin Halstead told ABTN that Varsity Airlines will fly Jetstream 31 aircraft twice daily to Edinburgh and daily to Newcastle.
The 23-year-old, who also pilots the aircraft, will target academics traveling between the cities' universities.
The airline is being financed by a group of investors from Tenerife, including businessmen Will Gilligan and David Lawrence.
Halstead was only 18 years old when he launched his first airline, Alpha One, which failed after only six weeks in business. The youngster said he went bust after a Middle Eastern backer failed to come through with promised finance.
In the last five years Halstead has worked for Branson's Virgin Atlantic as service ambassador on its struggling routes. He also claimed to have completed his airline pilot license and trained with BMI on its Airbus carriers.