teenager launches oxford - cambridge service
22.03.05
A teenager who gave up A-levels to achieve his childhood ambition of becoming a pilot has launched his own airline at the age of 18. Martin Halstead announced his plan to operate a scheduled UK air service between Oxford and Cambridge yesterday. His company, Alpha 1 Airways, will operate a twice-daily service between Oxford and Cambridge from 18.04.05.
Oxford and Cambridge are two cities linked by academia, but not by a convenient road or rail network. Although they are only 65 miles apart, a road journey between the two cities takes over 2 hours and a rail journey, which takes you via London, 2 1/2 hours. But the estimated flight time is just 20 minutes.
Alpha 1 will charter eight-seat Piper Navajo Chieftains and crew from the operator AirMed, but will provide all the customer services including booking arrangements, telephones and website. There will be two flights in each direction each day. The first will leave Oxford Airport at 07:30, arriving at Cambridge City Airport 20 minutes later. The first Cambridge-to-Oxford service will be at 08:15. Another Oxford-to-Cambridge flight will leave at 17:20 with a return leg at 18:00.
James Dillon-Godfray, the head of marketing and development at Oxford Airport, said: 'There has not been a direct air link between Oxford and Cambridge since the late 1930s. We were looking at the idea of running a scheduled service when Martin knocked on our door. He is a very dynamic young man.'
Dozens of academics, business people, students and tourists travel between the two cities each weekday, and demand for the service has exceeded Halstead's expectations. 'We're already looking at getting bigger aircraft because of the demand we've had already,' he said.
And, not content with this, he added 'We're also in talks with four other airports about expanding our route network.'
Alpha1 launches with single fares costing up to £49. For more informtion visit: www.flyalpha1.com.
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