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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 and AirUK. [1] Services commenced on 1 November 1982 and the first flight was JE601, flown from its base at Isle of Man Airport at Ronaldsway, by its Bandeirante to Glasgow.
From 1985 until 1993, the airline employed the Shorts 360 and the Shorts 330. A Vickers Viscount 836 was operated from October 1982 until October 1988. [7] Before retirement, the Viscount performed several 'champagne' flights, as it was the last to operate scheduled passenger services in the UK.
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 was made up of British Midland, Manx Airlines, Loganair and, Eurocity Express.
Manx leased a Saab 340 from 1986 to 1988 to operate the Liverpool - Heathrow route. The aircraft was registered G-HOPP and bore "SkyHopper" titles. Manx acquired its first jet aircraft, a BAe 146-100 registered G-OJET, in late 1987 which entered service on the flagship Heathrow route. In 1993 a larger BAe 146-200 registered G-MIMA was leased to replace this aircraft. Another -200, G-MANS, joined the fleet in 1994.
In October 1988, the airline collected its first BAe ATP, replacing the Viscount. Eventually, the airline owned seventeen ATPs. Airlines of Britain Holdings acquired Business Air in 1996. [8]
Manx Airlines operated the following types of aircraft:
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. [9] ABH restructured Loganair in July 1994 which saw it become a franchise partner of British Airways in Scotland. [10] Manx Airlines Europe also became a franchise partner of British Airways in 1995, operating some routes from its Manchester base under the British Airways Express brand. [11]
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. Loganair's cross-border trunk routes were combined with Manx Airlines Europe's UK routes and the new airline was renamed British Regional Airlines. [8] At the same time, British Airways closed down its 'Highlands' division and transferred the routes to British Regional Airlines which would operate them as a British Airways Express franchise partner. [12]
A small Manx Airlines operation retained its own identity operating five aircraft on routes from the Isle of Man. The British Regional Airline Group was created which contained both Manx Airlines and British Regional Airlines. [8] The Loganair name continued following a management buyout which saw a smaller independent airline continuing to operate routes between Shetland and Orkney. [13] In 1998 British Regional Airlines Group floated on the London Stock Exchange. [14]
In late 1998, Manx changed its corporate identity and introduced a new livery featuring a dark belly and a new Triskelion tail canvas. [15]
In March 2001, British Airways purchased the British Regional Airlines Group, holding company of British Regional Airlines and Manx Airlines, for £78 million. [16] British Regional Airlines then merged with Brymon Airways to create British Airways CitiExpress, with Manx Airlines continuing to operate as a stand-alone operation. [17] In mid-2002 it was announced that Manx Airlines would also be integrated in to the new regional carrier. [18]
Between March 1999 and the date of closure, the fleet was as follows: [19]
| 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.
British Midland Airways Limited was an airline with its head office in Donington Hall in Castle Donington, close to East Midlands Airport, in the United Kingdom. The airline flew to destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America and Central Asia from its operational base at 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. Until its sale to Connect Airways in 2019, it was the largest independent regional airline in Europe. Flybe once provided more than half of UK domestic flights outside London.
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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 based at Glasgow Airport near Paisley, Scotland. It is the largest regional airline in the UK by passenger numbers and fleet size.
AirUK was a wholly privately owned, independent regional British airline 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.
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Isle of Man Airport is the main civilian airport on the Isle of Man. It is located in the south of the island at Ronaldsway near Castletown, 6 nautical miles southwest of Douglas, the island's capital. Along with the Isle of Man Sea Terminal, it is one of the two main gateways to the island. The airport has scheduled services to the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
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.
Hall Caine Airport, also referred to as Close Lake Airfield, was an airfield on the Isle of Man located near the town of Ramsey. It was named after the author Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine CH, KBE by his sons Gordon Hall Caine and Derwent Hall Caine, who initiated the project, and was the first airport in the British Isles to be named after a person.
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Cambrian Airways was an airline based in the United Kingdom which ran operations from Cardiff Airport and Liverpool John Lennon Airport between 1935 and 1974. It was incorporated into British Airways when BOAC, BEA, Cambrian and Northeast merged on 1 April 1974.
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Isle of Man Air Services Ltd (IoMAS) was a small airline, based at Ronaldsway Airport Isle of Man, which operated scheduled flights to the English and Scottish mainland between formation in September 1937 and nationalisation in January 1947.
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 August 31, 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.
Media related to Manx Airlines at Wikimedia Commons
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