Blue Islands, an airline based at St. Peter Port on Guernsey, will begin flying from London City Airport to Jersey on April 18 2011. The flight, which costs £85 each way, is being marketed at business travellers, according to the carrier’s chairman, Derek Coates.
The move is a bold one. The route between London and the Channel Island has a reputation for being unprofitable. Flybe and Cityjet previously cancelled routes between the two destinations, after passenger interest waned.
As Jersey regards links to London as “vital” to the island’s economy, the success or failure of the connection has implications for local businesses and industries buoyed by tourism, such as hotels and boating. Paul Routier, minister for economic development on the island, referred to the resumption of the route to London as “great news”.
Jersey is an “island of opposites”, to quote the island’s tourist board, located close to the rolling fields of Normandy in France, but inextricably tied to the port cities of southern Britain. The island is famed for its clement summer weather, which easily rivals that of Devon and Cornwall in the UK. The island’s beaches are popular with visitors, providing views out over a turquoise English Channel.
Blue Islands claims that travellers will be able to get from Canary Wharf to the Jersey seaside within two hours. Planes leave London City at 0725 every weekday, and return from Jersey at 1715. The carrier is also offering a Sunday service, which operates to the same schedule as weekday flights. Tickets for the route are already on sale, and can be booked online.