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| Founded | 1982 | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | 2002 | ||||||
| Hubs | IOM Isle of Man Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Club Sovereign | ||||||
| Fleet size | 5 (2002) | ||||||
| Destinations | 13 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Isle of Man Airport Ballasalla, Malew, Isle of Man | ||||||
| Key people | Terry Liddiard. | ||||||
| Website | N/A | ||||||
Manx Airlines was an English-owned, Isle of Man-based airline that existed between 1982 and 2002. [1] Its head office was located on the grounds of Ronaldsway Airport in Ballasalla, Malew. [2] An airline of the same name existed between 1947 and 1958. [3]
An earlier Manx Airlines was established in 1947 as Manx Air Charters and renamed in 1953. It was based at Ronaldsway Airport, Isle of Man, and equipped with De Havilland Dragon Rapides and Douglas C-47 Dakotas. [4] The airline also operated the Bristol Freighter and its aircraft were equipped with passenger modules. One of this airline's Bristol Freighters crashed on 27 February 1958 in the Winter Hill air disaster. [5] The airline was absorbed by Silver City Airways in 1958 and then merged with Channel Air Bridge to form British United Air Ferries in 1963. [6]
The new Manx Airlines was a joint venture founded by British Midland Airways (75%) and AirUK (25%). [1] The fleet comprised a pair of Fokker F27s, one each leased from the parent airlines, and a Vickers Viscount 810 leased from British Midland. Services commenced on 1 November 1982 with the first flight, JE601 from Isle of Man to Glasgow, operated by an Embraer Bandeirante wet leased from Genair. [7] The initial schedule from Isle of Man was three times daily to Liverpool, twice daily to Belfast, Glasgow, Heathrow, and Manchester, and once daily to Blackpool and Dublin. The airline also operated a twice daily service between Liverpool and Belfast. In 1983 services to Belfast moved from Belfast International to the newly opened Belfast City Airport. [7]
For summer 1983, Manx trialled a Shorts 330 leased from the manufacturer and later that year leased in a Shorts 360 from Air Ecosse. At the same time the daily return to Blackpool operated by an F-27 was replaced with a four times daily service operated by a PA-31 chartered from City Air Links. The Piper was replaced in late 1983 by a DHC-6 leased from Loganair. Following the trial of the Shorts 360 in late 1983, Manx purchased two models from Shorts Brothers at a cost of £5 million which were delivered as G-LEGS and G-ISLE in March 1984. [7]
In 1985 Manx was awarded a nightly postal service operating one of its Shorts 360s from Ronaldsway to Manchester, Luton, and Blackpool. For this service a third Shorts 360 was leased from Air Ecosse, G-RMSS. At the beginning of 1986 Manx took over the Liverpool to Heathrow route from parent British Midland, adding a fourth Shorts 360, G-WACK, to operate the service. Later that year the 360 was replaced with a leased Saab 340 registered G-HOPP and wearing "SkyHopper" titles. [7]
In March 1987, Airlines of Britain Holdings (ABH) was formed to act as a holding company for British Midland Airways and its subsidiaries. The group owned 100% of British Midland, Loganair, and Eurocity Express and retained control of 75% of Manx. [8] In June 1988 ABH acquired Air UK's 25% stake in Manx, making the airline a wholly owned subsidiary of ABH. [7]
In mid-1987 the airline announced plans to upgrade the Isle of Man to Heathrow service to all jet operation with DC-9 aircraft. Unable to acquire its own jets, a BAC 1-11 was leased from Airways International Cymru for the London route. Later in 1987 Manx acquired its first jet aircraft, a BAe 146-100 registered G-OJET leased from BAe, which entered service on the flagship Heathrow route replacing the BAC 1-11. Since its founding five years earlier, Manx had primarily operated the Heathrow route with Viscounts provided by parent British Midland or leased from other operators. With the introduction of jets in 1987 and the arrival of the first BAe ATP in 1988, the Viscounts were retired with Manx organising a series of 'champagne' flights around the island on 19th October. The final scheduled Viscount flight in to Heathrow operated that afternoon. [7] In 1989 a new £1 million maintenance hangar for the airline opened at Ronaldsway Airport which became a CAA approved facility for BAe ATP maintenance. [7]
In March 1991, Manx Airlines created Manx Airlines Europe in order to expand and fly routes within the United Kingdom from a base at Cardiff Airport. Two Jetstream 31 aircraft were obtained from BAe with services starting on 25 March 1991. [9] [7] [10] At a press conference on 27 March 1991, Manx announced orders for two of the larger Jetstream 41 aircraft following the rollout of the type at Prestwick that day. [7] [11] The order was later increased to five aircraft, with the first aircraft G-WAWR delivered on 25 November 1992 and entering service in early 1993. [12] [note 1] In 1993 a larger BAe 146-200 registered G-MIMA was leased to replace the BAe 146-100 which was returned to the manufacturer. Two additional ATPs and a second BAe 146-200 (G-MANS) were leased in early 1994 following the transfer of some routes from British Midland. [7]
In January 1994, Airlines of Britain announced a restructuring which saw Loganair's cross-border domestic trunk routes and international services transferred to Manx Airlines Europe. All of seven Loganair's ATP and three Jetstream 41 aircraft were transferred to Manx for these services. [13] In April 1994 it was announced that Loganair would become a franchise partner of British Airways, operating as British Airways Express in Scotland with its remaining fleet of Shorts 360, BN-2 Islander, and Twin Otter aircraft. [14] The restructuring was completed in July 1994. [15] [16] Manx Airlines Europe then also became a franchise partner of British Airways in January 1995, operating some routes from its Manchester base under the British Airways Express brand. [16]
In September 1996, Airlines of Britain announced it would split its regional airlines into a separate grouping which would enable it to increase its franchise links with British Airways while British Midland looked to increase ties with Lufthansa. The new airline was renamed the British Regional Airlines Group (BRAL). [17] At the same time, British Airways closed down its own 'Highlands' division and transferred the routes to British Regional Airlines which would operate them as a British Airways Express franchise partner alongside its existing franchise routes. [18] Airlines of Britain Holdings also acquired Business Air in 1996 which was absorbed in to BRAL. [17]
A small Manx Airlines operation retained its own identity operating five aircraft on routes from the Isle of Man. The British Regional Airline Group thus contained Manx Airlines, British Regional Airlines, and Loganair whose name was retained for trading purposes. [17] The Loganair name later continued following a management buyout in 1997 which saw a smaller independent airline continuing to operate routes between Shetland and Orkney. [19] In 1998 British Regional Airlines Group floated on the London Stock Exchange. [20]
In late 1998, Manx changed its corporate identity and introduced a new livery featuring a dark belly and a new Triskelion tail canvas. [21]
In March 2001, British Airways purchased the British Regional Airlines Group, holding company of British Regional Airlines and Manx Airlines, for £78 million. [22] British Regional Airlines then merged with Brymon Airways to create British Airways CitiExpress, with Manx Airlines continuing to operate as a stand-alone operation. [23] In mid-2002 it was announced that Manx Airlines would also be integrated in to the new regional carrier. [24]
Between March 1999 and the date of closure, the fleet was as follows: [25]
| Type | Number | Registrations |
|---|---|---|
| BAe 146 | 1 | G-MIMA |
| BAe ATP | 3 | G-MANA, G-MANB, G-MANC |
| Jetstream 41 | 1 | G-MAJA |
Manx Airlines ceased operations on 31 August 2002. The last flight was planned to be flown by BAe 146 G-MIMA, from London (Gatwick) to Isle of Man Airport (Ronaldsway). However, due to technical problems, a sub-chartered aircraft was brought in to operate this service. Therefore, the honour of operating the last Manx Airlines flight (JE 818 Birmingham International to Ronaldsway) went to Manx-born pilot Captain Paul Quine, who was in command of ATP G-MANB, which landed at Ronaldsway at 20:10 GMT on Saturday, 31 August 2002.
Manx Airlines operated the following types of aircraft:
British Midland Airways Limited was an airline in the United Kingdom with its head office in Donington Hall in Castle Donington, close to East Midlands Airport, England. The airline flew to destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America and Central Asia from its main hub at London Heathrow Airport, where at its peak it held about 13% of all takeoff and landing slots and operated over 2,000 flights a week. BMI was a member of Star Alliance from 1 July 2000 until 20 April 2012.
Flybe, styled as flybe, was a British airline based in Exeter, England. It was sold to Connect Airways in 2019; it was the largest independent regional airline in Europe. Flybe once provided more than half of the UK domestic flights outside of London.
The British Aerospace ATP is an airliner designed and produced by British Aerospace. It was an evolution of the Hawker Siddeley HS 748, a fairly successful feederliner of the 1960s.
Loganair is a Scottish regional airline headquartered at Glasgow Airport in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. The airline primarily operates domestic flights within the United Kingdom. It is the largest regional airline in Scotland by passenger numbers and fleet size.
The British Aerospace Jetstream 41 is a turboprop-powered feederliner and regional airliner, designed by British Aerospace as a stretched version of the popular Jetstream 31. Intended to compete directly with 30-seat aircraft like the Embraer Brasilia, Dornier 328 and Saab 340, the new design eventually accommodated 29 passengers in a two-by-one arrangement like the Jetstream 31. Eastern Airways of the UK is the biggest operator of Jetstream 41s in the world, with 14 in the fleet.
AirUK was a wholly privately owned, independent regional airline in the United Kingdom formed in 1980 as a result of a merger involving four rival UK-based regional airlines. British and Commonwealth (B&C)-owned British Island Airways (BIA) and Air Anglia were the two dominant merger partners. The merged entity's corporate headquarters were originally located at Redhill, Surrey, the location of the old BIA head office. It subsequently relocated to Crawley, West Sussex. In addition to the main maintenance base at Norwich Airport, there also used to be a second major maintenance base at Blackpool Airport. This was closed down following Air UK's major retrenchment during Britain's severe recession of the early 1980s. In 1987, Air UK established Air UK Leisure as a charter subsidiary. The following year, Air UK shifted its headquarters to London Stansted Airport. When Stansted's new Norman Foster-designed terminal opened in 1991, the airline became its first and subsequently main tenant.
Eastern Airways, legally incorporated as Air Kilroe Limited, is a British regional airline headquartered at Humberside Airport near the village of Kirmington, North Lincolnshire, England. The airline operates domestic, international and private charter flights. Around 800,000 passengers fly with the airline per year.
SUN-AIR of Scandinavia A/S, usually shortened to SUN-AIR, is a Danish regional airline headquartered in Billund, with its main base at Billund Airport. It operates scheduled services as a franchise of British Airways using their name and corporate design as British Airways - operated by SUN-AIR of Scandinavia A/S. The airline also offers charter flights, air taxi services, specialist aerial work and aircraft brokerage services.
Dundee Airport is an airport based in Dundee, Scotland. It lies on the shore of the Firth of Tay and overlooks the Tay Rail Bridge.
Emerald Airways was an airline based in Liverpool, United Kingdom. It operated contract and ad hoc freight services throughout the UK and Europe for postal, newspaper and freight companies and passenger services to Ireland under the brand FlyJem.
EuroManx was a Manx airline based at Ronaldsway Airport, which operated scheduled domestic passenger services as well as business charters. On 9 May 2008 the airline announced that it was ceasing all operations, citing rising fuel prices and reduced passenger numbers as the reasons.
The Short 360 is a commuter aircraft that was built by UK manufacturer Short Brothers during the 1980s. The Short 360 seats up to 39 passengers and was introduced into service in November 1982. It is a larger version of the Short 330.
Manx2 was a virtual commuter airline with its head office in Hangar 9, Isle of Man Airport in Ballasalla, Malew, Isle of Man. It sold flights and services from several airports in the UK with bases in Belfast City, Blackpool, Cardiff and Isle of Man. The flights were operated for Manx2 by a number of airlines, including Van Air Europe, FLM Aviation and Links Air. In December 2012 the assets of Manx2 were sold to Citywing and Manx2's last flight took place on 31 December 2012.
Flybmi, styled as flybmi, legally British Midland Regional Limited and formerly branded as bmi Regional, was a regional airline in the United Kingdom that operated scheduled passenger services across the UK and Europe. The head office of the airline was at East Midlands Airport in North West Leicestershire, and it had operating bases at Aberdeen, Brussels, Bristol, East Midlands, Newcastle and Munich.
The British Aerospace Jetstream is a small twin turboprop airliner, with a pressurised fuselage, developed as the Jetstream 31 from the earlier Handley Page Jetstream. A larger version of the Jetstream was also manufactured, the British Aerospace Jetstream 41.
British Regional Airlines was a franchise partner of British Airways based in Manchester. They operated a large network of domestic and European services from many UK regional airports.
Links Air was a British airline selling and operating scheduled regional flights as well as charter services. It formerly operated scheduled flights out of Doncaster Sheffield Airport and public service obligation flights in Wales from Cardiff to Anglesey on behalf of the Welsh Government.
Stephen Paul Quine is a Manx-born commercial pilot and former politician who, on 31 August 2002 was pilot in command of the final Manx Airlines flight. On 27 August 2020 he was elected as a Member of the House of Keys for the constituency of Douglas South in a by-election, before narrowly losing his seat at the subsequent General Election.
Flybe, styled as flybe, was a British regional airline based at Birmingham Airport, England. It commenced operations using the name of a former airline in 2022, but ceased operations and entered administration on 28 January 2023.
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Media related to Manx Airlines at Wikimedia Commons
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