Scheduled services and air freight
operators 2000 - 2017
Throughout the
2000s, the Isle of Man Government has operated an 'open skies' policy with
regard to airline operations to and from the island. Basically this means
that any operator that wants to start or discontinue a route can do so
without intervention from the government. This has resulted in numerous
operators on an ever changing route network. This is an attempt at a short
history of passenger and freight operators since 2000.
Manx Airlines 1982 - 2002
An earlier incarnation
of Manx Airlines had operated at Ronaldsway in the 1950s, but the name
was resurrected in 1982 as a joint venture between British Midland Airways
and Air UK to provide services to the Isle of Man. In 1991 an offshoot
was formed to operate non IOM services called Manx Airlines Europe, the
name being changed to British Regional Airlines in 1996. At the start
of the decade Manx Airlines was operating a fleet of three BAe ATPs, one
BAe 146-200 and one BAe Jetstream 41. In 2001 British Airways acquired
the British Regional Airlines group (including Manx Airlines) and merged
it with Brymon Airways to create BA CitiExpress. Amongst other changes
introduced, the Isle of Man to London route was moved from Heathrow to
Gatwick.
On the 31st August 2002
Manx Airlines ceased to exist.
Manx Airlines ATP
G-MANC in 2000
|
Manx Airlines Jetstream
41 G-MAJA in 2000
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Manx Airlines
146-200 G-MIMA in 2002
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Manx Airlines ATP
G-MANC in 2002
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Manx Airlines 146-200
G-MIMA in 2002
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Last Manx Airlines
flight - 31st August 2002
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British Regional Airlines
1996 - 2001
Starting from a small
base at Cardiff operating BAe Jetstream 31s in 1991 as Manx Airlines Europe,
from 1994 it became a franchise operator for British Airways, changing
its name to British Regional in 1996 and expanded its fleet and routes,
operating 22 Embraer ERJ145s, 14 BAe ATPs, 12 BAe Jetstream 41s and 4 BAe
146s. Aircraft were painted in various version of the British Airways livery.
Although not generally operating any Isle of Man Routes (a Friday evening
Cardiff route was an exception), the aircraft visited Ronaldsway regularly
for maintenance at the large engineering base and also operated services
on behalf of Manx Airlines to cover aircraft shortages. In 2001 the company
was acquired by British Airways and renamed BA CitiExpress.
British Regional
ATP G-MANP in 2000
|
British Regional
146-200 G-GNTZ in 2000
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British Regional
Jetstream 41 G-MAJF in 2001
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British Regional
ERJ145 G-EMBI in 2001
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Jersey European - British European
1979 - 2002
Jersey European was
originally established in 1979 and in the early 2000s was operating through
the Isle of Man on the Blackpool, Belfast and London City Routes. Aircraft
used were Bombardier Dash8s and BAe 146s. In June 2000 the airline name
was changed to British European. In July 2002 the airline was restructured
as a low cost operator and re-named FlyBe with a new colour scheme.
Jersey European Dash8-Q300
G-JEDE in 2000
|
Jersey European 146-200
G-JEAK in 2000
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British European
146-200 G-JEAK in 2003
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British European
Dash8-Q200 G-JEDZ in 2002
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Emerald Airways 1992 -
2006
Originally formed in
1987 as Janes Aviation, but changed name to Emerald in 1992. Mainly a freight
operator to the Isle of Man from Liverpool using a large fleet of Avro
748 turboprops, painted in various liveries. Usually there were three
748s arriving early each morning and departing again in the evening.
Emerald also carried out much of their 748 crew training at Ronaldsway.
A passenger service had been operated for a time in the 1990s between Ronaldsway
and Liverpool using 748s and this was revived in May 2004 using British
Aerospace ATP aircraft. In 2005 Euromanx took over the service from
Emerald, but continued using Emeralds ATP and crews. In May 2006
Emeralds Air Operators Certificate (AOC) was suspended by the CAA, effectively
closing the airline down. Most of the 748s were flown to Blackpool
Airport but one ATP, G-JEMC was impounded by the Isle of Man Airport and
remained parked at Ronaldsway for a while before being flown out.
Avro 748 G-ATMJ in
2000
|
Avro 748 G-BEJD -
Reed Aviation colours in 2000
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Avro 748 G-OSOE in
Securicor Omega Express colours - 2004
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Emerald Avro 748
G-SOEI in Mt Cook Airlines colours - 2004
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Emerald ATP G-JEMC
in the new colour scheme - 2004
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Avro 748 G-BGMO in
the new colour scheme - 2004
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Aer Arann 2000 - 2014
Irish operator Aer Arann
operated services to the Isle of Man throughout the 2000s, mainly concentrating
on the Dublin route but for a while around 2005 had an Isle of Man hub
serving Prestwick, London City, London Luton, Manchester and Liverpool.
Aircraft types started with the Short 360 and went on to various versions
of the ATR42 and 72. From 2006 to 2008 they chartered an ATR72 to EuroManx.
In January 2010 Aer Arann and Aer Lingus formed Aer Lingus Regional and
the Aer Arann aircraft started to appear in a new version of the Aer Lingus
colour scheme. By then the only IOM route operated was from Dublin. In
2014 the airline changed its operating name and now operates as Stobart
Air, still as an Aer Lingus franchise operation.
Aer Arann Short 360
EI-BPD in 2000
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Aer Arann ATR 42-300
EI-CBK in 2003
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Aer Arann ATR42-300
EI-BYO in 2004
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Aer Arann ATR72-500
EI-REM in 2007
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Aer Arann ATR42-300
EI-CBK in 2012
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Aer Arann ATR72-600
EI-FAU in 2014
|
Comed Aviation
A small operation based
at Blackpool Airport, flying the Blackpool - Isle of Man - Belfast route
from the start of the decade using Piper Navajo and Embraer Bandeirante
Aircraft but went into administration in March 2001
Comed Bandeirante
G-ODUB in 2000
|
Comed Bandeirante
G-ONEW in 2001
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Platinum Air 2000
Following the demise
of Comed, Platinum started operating the Blackpool - Isle of Man - Belfast
Route for a while, starting in February 2001
using some very smart
Jetstream 31 aircraft, occasionally a Beech King Air substituted
Platinum Jetstream
31 G-PLAH in 2001
|
Platinum Jetstream
31 G-PLAJ in 2001
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Keen Air - FlyKeen
After Platinum Air 2000,
Keen Air operated the Blackpool route for a while in the early 2000s using
Embraer Bandeirante aircraft under the FlyKeen brand.
One of their former
aircraft is preserved (in Manx Airlines colours) at the Manx Aviation Preservation
Society site at Ronaldsway.
Keenair Bandeirante
G-BGYT in 2002
|
Keenair Bandeirante
G-BGYT repainted - 2003
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Keenair Bandeirante
G-FLTY in 2004
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Bandeirante G-BGYT
preserved in Manx Airlines colours
|
BA CitiExpress 2001
- 2006
BA CitiExpress was formed
in March 2001 when British Airways acquired the British Regional Airlines
group and merged it with Brymon Airlines.
BA CitiExpress was renamed
as BA Connect in February 2006 with a few aircraft receiving the new branding,
but by March 2007 had transferred the business to FlyBe and severed all
links to the Isle of Man until commencing services from London City again
in 2012.
BA CitiExpress ATP
G-MAUD in 2003
|
BA CitiExpress Dash8-Q300
G-BRYW in 2004
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BA CitiExpress 146-100
G-MABR in 2005
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BA CitiExpress ERJ145
G-EMBH in 2005
|
FlyBe 2002 - present
A renaming and re-structuring
of British European in 2002 with a change to a new blue and white colour
scheme.
In March 2007 FlyBe
took over British Airways BA Connect operation and established a base at
Ronaldsway. Aircraft fleets were initially merged but over time rationalized
leaving FlyBe operating a mixed fleet of Bombardier Dash8-Q400s and Embraer
ERJ175 and ERJ195s. For a while FlyBe had four Dash8-Q400s with crews
based at Ronaldsway but in recent years the base was reduced in size and
eventually closed down in 2014 with the airline selling its London Gatwick
slots to EasyJet and dropping the London route from the Isle of Man, which
left just two Dash8s and crews night stopping at Ronaldsway to operate
early morning services to Manchester and Liverpool. The Birmingham
route continued but operated out of Birmingham rather than Ronaldsway.
Later in 2014 the airline underwent a restyling exercise with a new purple
colour scheme and new cabin crew uniforms. Since 2016 most of the
FlyBe Isle of Man services have been operated by Stobart Air using two
IOM based ATR72s painted in FlyBe purple livery.
FlyBe 146-200 G-JEAY
in November 2002
|
FlyBe Dash8-Q400
G-JEDI in July 2003
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FlyBe 146-200 G-JEAS
in Air France colours - November 2004
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FlyBe ERJ195 G-FBEA
in January 2007
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FlyBe ERJ145 G-ERJA
in June 2007
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FlyBe ERJ145 G-EMBL
in December 2007
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FlyBe ERJ175 G-FBJE
in June 2012
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FlyBe Dash8-Q400
G-JECY in May 2014
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Stobart Air ATR72-500
EI-REL for FlyBe in June 2016
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Stobart Air ATR72-500
EI-REM for FlyBe in June 2016
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EuroManx 2002 - 2008
In August 2002 a new
Isle of Man based airline started operations, with aircraft and flight
deck crews provide by Dutch operator Rossair. Starting using Beech
1900Ds, by 2004 ATR42s were being used on the busier routes, mainly to
Liverpool. Unfortunately, Rossair ceased trading in December 2004 leaving
EuroManx having to use several different operators to fulfil their services
for a while.
Rossair Beech 1900D
PH-RAR - August 2002
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Rossair Beech 1900D
PH-RAR - November 2002
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Rossair Beech 1900D
PH-RAT - July 2003
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Rossair ATR42 PH-RAK
- March 2004
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For the end of 2004
and the first few months of 2005 a variety of operators flew services for
EuroManx, a few are seen below
Denim Airways Fokker
50 PH-PPJ - December 2004
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Atlantic Airways
ATR42 G-IONA - January 2005
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Highland Airways
Jetstream 31 G-BTXG - February 2005
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Club 328 Dornier
328JET - February 2005
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BMI ATR42-300 G-DRFC
- February 2005
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Flightline 146-300
G-BPNT - March 2005
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Farnair ATR42 HB-AFD
- April 2005
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Scot Airways Dornier
328 G-BWWT - April 2005
|
By May 2005 Euromanx
had re-structured and was ready to operate its own aircraft and a rather
mixed fleet of six aircraft covering three quite different types started
to arrive at Ronaldsway, beginning with an Avro RJ70 in April. The fleet
eventually consisted of two Avro RJ70s (Irish registered), two Dornier
328s (German registered) and two Bombardier Dash8s (Austrian Registered),
one Q200 and one Q300. A third Dash 8 (Q300) intended for the fleet never
materialized.
EuroManx Avro RJ70
EI-CPK - April 2005
|
EuroManx Dornier
328 D-CPRW - June 2005
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EuroManx Dash8-Q300
OE-HBC - July 2005
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EuroManx Dash8-Q200
OE-HBB - August 2005
|
In June 2005 EuroManx
took over the Emerald Airways passenger operation on the Liverpool route.
Flights continued to be operated by Emerald ATPs and crews with the aircraft
remaining in Emerald colours until the demise of that airline in May 2006.
Such a diverse and small
fleet must have been difficult to manage and the two RJ85s and Dornier
328s left the fleet in 2006. From July 2006 an ATR72 was chartered in from
Aer Arann, Mainly to operate the London City service and usually EI-REJ
which was painted in partial Euromanx colours. EuroManx continued
operations using the Dash8s, Aer Arann ATR72 and other leased in aircraft
until ceasing operations on Thursday 8th May 2008.
Emerald ATPs G-JEMA
& G-JEMC for EuroManx - February 2006
|
Atlantic Airways
ATR72 G-HERM for EuroManx - March 2006
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Aer Arann ATR72 EI-REJ
in EuroManx colours - September 2006
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Aer Arann ATR72 EI-REI
for EuroManx - May 2008
|
British Northwest Airlines
2003 - 2006
Effectively a re-incarnation
of Comed Aviation and operating the Blackpool - Isle of Man - Belfast route
from 2003, initially with Piper Navajo aircraft, often operating two aircraft
on the same service if traffic levels demanded it. Some operations were
conducted using other aircraft types. British Northwest ceased trading
in 2006.
British Northwest
Navajo G-OBNW
|
Three aircraft operating
the same British Northwest flight
|
VLM 2005 - 2009
Belgian operator
VLM operated on routes to London City, Liverpool and Brussels (via London
City) using Fokker 50 aircraft. In the latter years of operation the flight
would arrive from London City in the morning and the aircraft day stop
at Ronaldsway before returning to London in the late afternoon.
VLM Fokker 50 OO-VLX
in 2005
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VLM Fokker 50 OO-VLJ
'Isle of Man' in 2007
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Alpha One Airways 2005
- 2006
Not sure if this should
really count as an airline, but Jetstream 31 G-CCPW appeared with Alpha
One titles in November 2005. Apparently a few services were operated linking
Ronaldsway and Edinburgh in December 2005 and January 2006 but the business
then folded having supposedly carried a total of 46 passengers.
Jetstream 31 G-CCPW
with Alpha One titles
|
Alpha One titles
on the nose of Jetstream 31 G-CCPW
|
BA Connect 2006 - 2007
A re-naming by British
Airways of their BA CitiExpress operation in February 2006 with some aircraft
receiving the new branding before the whole business (excluding London
City operations) was transferred to FlyBe in March 2007
BA Connect ERJ145
G-EMBM in 2006
|
BA Connect Dash8-Q300
G-BRYY in 2006
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Air Freight & Postal flight
Operators 2006 - 2007
With Emerald Airways
ceasing operations suddenly in May 2006, another operator had to be found
at short notice to operate the Royal Mail flights to and from the island.
This was operated for a while by Antonov An26 aircraft, usually by
Latvian company RAF-Avia, but Hungarian company Budapest Air Services also
operated some flights. In February 2007 an ATP appeared on the service,
in Magic Bird colours and by April, Atlantic Airways was operating with
ATPs
RAF-Avia An26 YL-RAB
- May 2006
|
Budapest Air Service
An26 HA-TCY - June 2006
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Raf-Avia An26 YL-RAE
- August 2006
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RAF-Avia An26 YL-RAA
- October 2006
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MNG Fokker F27 TC-MBA
- January 2007
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Magic Bird ATP G-BTPL
- February 2007
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Blue Islands 2006 - 2013
Channel Islands
based operator Blue Islands flew a direct service between Jersey &
Guernsey and the Isle of Man using Jetstream 32 aircraft.
The service was stopped
in February 2013 due to falling passenger numbers.
Blue Islands Jetstream
31 G-ISLB in April 2006
|
New livery on Blue
Islands Jetstream 32 G-ISLD in 2012
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Manx2.com 2006 - 2013
On the 11th July 2006
a new aircraft type appeared at Ronaldsway. It was a Czech built Let 410
turboprop initially the Hungarian aircraft register but soon changed to
the Czech register, painted up in Manx2.com colours. This aircraft was
joined by another in due course, both being operated by Van Air Europe
on behalf of Isle of Man based company Manx2.com. In early 2007 a Metroliner,
operated by German company FLM Aviation joined the Lets, followed by Dornier
228s in 2008. Various other companies also operated flights under the Manx2.com
banner over the years. On the 1st January 2013, following a management
buyout of the company, it was renamed Citywing and continued operations
as before, using the Van Air Europe Let410s and Linksair Jetstream 31s.
Van Air Europe for
Manx2 Let 410 HA-YFG - July 2006
|
Amber Airways for
Manx2 Jetstream 31 G-PLAJ - Sept 2006
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FLM Aviation for
Manx2 Metroliner D-CSAL - March 2007
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European 2000 for
Manx2 Metroliner 9H-AEU - October 2007
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FLM Aviation for
Manx2 Dornier 228 D-IFLM - April 2008
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Spanish operator
for Manx2 Metroliner EC-GPS - April 2009
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FLM Aviation for
Manx 2 Dornier 228 D-CMNX - May 2010
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Van Air Europe for
Manx2 Let 410 OK-ASA - December 2010
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LinksAir for Manx2
Jetstream 31 G-CCPW - March 2012
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FLM Aviation for
Manx 2 Dornier 228 D-ILKA - July 2012
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Eastern Airways 2003 -
2009
Eastern Airlines
started operations in 1997 and in 1999 acquired Manchester based Air Kilroe,
operating under their AOC. In March 2003 they acquired a fleet of 12 BAe
Jetstream 41 aircraft, together with routes, from British Airways CitiExpress,
giving them a small route hub from the Isle of Man. In addition to the
Jetstream 41s, Jetstream 31s and occasionally Saab 2000s were used.
This continued in operation until August 2009 when the IOM operation was
closed down. Routes operated had included Birmingham, Newcastle and Bristol.
From 2012 they have been flying the IOM - London City route on behalf of
BA Cityflyer, using a Saab 2000 in British Airways colours.
Eastern Airways Jetstream
41 G-MAJC in 2003
|
Eastern Airways Jetstream
32 G-BUVD in 2003
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Eastern Airways Saab
2000 G-CDEA in 2005
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Eastern Airways Jetstream
41 G-MAJU in 2006
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Eastern Airways Jetstream
41 G-MAJM in 2008
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Eastern Airways Jetstream
41 G-MAJC in 2009
|
Loganair 2004 - 2013
Loganair had operated
flights to Ronaldsway in the 1990s, but after an absence of some years
reactivated routes, first in 2004 to Glasgow and then Edinburgh. These
were operated under a franchise arrangement with British Airways, but changing
to a similar operation with FlyBe in 2008. Aircraft used were almost exclusively
Saab 340s but with an occasional appearance by one of the airlines De-Havilland
Canada Twin Otters. In June 2012 they started a new route to Norwich Airport,
usually using Suckling Airways Dornier 328s, which also appeared from time
to time on the Scottish routes. In early 2013 Loganair announced
that after the 2013 TT fortnight they would be stopping all Isle of Man
services, leaving the island without a Scottish service until Citywing
started a Glasgow service.
Loganair Saab 340
G-LGNE in BA colours - March 2004
|
Loganair Saab 340
G-LGNE in partial FlyBe colours - August 2008
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Loganair Saab 340
G-LGNF in FlyBe colours - November 2008
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Loganair Twin Otter
G-BZFP - April 2012
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Suckling Airways
for Loganair, Dornier 328 G-BWWT in 2012
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Loganair Saab 340
G-LGNN in 2013
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Atlantic Airways/West Atlantic
2007 - present
Atlantic Airways took
over the island mail flights from April 2007 using BAe ATP aircraft converted
from passenger to freight configuration. Many of the aircraft are either
ex Manx Airlines/British Regional or British Airways aircraft. The regular
run comprises arriving at Ronaldsway airport opening time of 06:15 local
time with the inbound service from East Midlands airport and departing
again in the evening with the outbound service.
In 2011, Atlantic Airlines
merged with Swedish operator West Air to form West Atlantic, based at Gothenburg
although continuing to operate aircraft on the UK, Swedish and Luxembourg
registers. Mail services to Ronaldsway still operate under Atlantic Airlines
flight numbers and callsigns. One of West Atlantic's stated aims was to
retrofit freighter ATPs with a full EFIS (Electronic Flight Instrument
System) cockpit. Ironically this was the original intention when the aircraft
was first designed by BAe/Avro, but the UK CAA vetoed it as being too revolutionary.
When Airbus designed the A320 with such a system, the CAA certificated
it!
Atlantic Airways
ATP G-OOAF in 2007
|
Atlantic Airways
ATP G-BTPG in 2009
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Atlantic Airways
ATP G-MANH in 2010
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Atlantic Airways
ATP G-MANM in 2014
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West Atlantic ATP
SE-MHI in 2016
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West Atlantic ATP
SE-MHH in 2017
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Janes Aviation 2008
A rather short lived
attempt to revive the deceased Emerald as Janes Aviation saw this Avro
748 freighter appear at Ronaldsway briefly in 2008
Janes Aviation Avro
748 in October 2008
|
EasyJet 2010 -
In May 2010, following
the lengthening of the main runway at Ronaldsway, EasyJet started operating
a Liverpool to Ronaldsway route using Airbus A319 aircraft and in October
2012 added flights to London Gatwick in competition with FlyBe. FlyBe sold
its Gatwick slots to EasyJet in 2014 and stopped flying on the route. EasyJet
started operating flights between the Isle of Man and Bristol in 2015 and
London Luton is being added in 2017. From time to time the larger
Airbus A320 appears on their Isle of Man routes.
EasyJet Airbus A319
G-EZBW in 2010
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EasyJet Airbus A319
G-EZBA in 2012
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EasyJet Airbus A319
G-EZDR in 2016
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EasyJet Airbus A320
G-EZOR in 2017
|
BA Cityflyer 2012 -
In June 2012, British
Airways subsidiary BA Cityflyer commenced flying on the London City route,
initially using their own Embraer ERJ170 aircraft, but flights were subsequently
operated on their behalf by Eastern Airways Saab 2000 aircraft, painted
in BA Cityflyer colours and using BA flight numbers. Over Winter
2013/14 flight were again operated by the ERJ170 but with only a single
daily rotation, but from April 2014, with local sponsorship, Eastern resumed
flying the route for BA with the Saab 2000 doing three daily rotations.
BA Cityflyer ERJ170
G-LCYI in 2012
|
Eastern Saab 2000
G-CDEB, for Cityflyer in 2012
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BA Cityflyer ERJ190
G-LCYM in 2013
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BA Cityflyer ERJ170
G-LCYH in 2013
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Eastern Saab 2000
G-CERZ for Cityflyer in 2014
|
Eastern Saab 2000
G-CDKB for Cityflyer in 2014
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Eastern Saab 2000
G-CDEB for Cityflyer in 2016
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Eastern Saab 2000
G-CDKA for Cityflyer in 2017
|
Citywing 2013 - 2017
Following a management
buyout of Manx2.com in January 2013, the operation was renamed Citywing
and the Van Air Europe Let 410s operating most of the services were repainted
in a new colour scheme. Routes operated were the same as Manx2.com, to
Blackpool, Newcastle, Belfast and Gloucester. In 2014, after Loganair
ceased operating to the Isle of Man, Citywing started a Glasgow service.
In March 2017, the UK CAA withdrew Van Air's operating permissions for
the UK following an incident and after a couple of weeks using other chartered
in aircraft including a Boeing 737, Citywing stopped operating.
Van Air Europe for
Citywing Let 410 OK-ASA in 2012
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Van Air Europe for
Citywing Let 410 OK-TCA in 2014
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LinksAir for Citywing
Jetstream 31 G-LNKS in 2014
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Van Air Europe for
Citywing Let 410 OK-UBA in 2014
|
Van Air Europe Let
410 OK-RDA in 2017
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Van Air Europe Let
410 OK-UBA in 2017
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Titan for Citywing
Boeing 737 G-POWC in 2017
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Sprint Air for Citywing
Saab 340 SP-KPR in 2017
|
LinksAir 2014
Previously operating
from the Isle of Man on behalf of Manx2.com and Citywing, LinksAir started
services in their own right from Doncaster to Ronaldsway from April 2014
using their Jetstream 31 aircraft. According to their timetable,
this service finished on the 15th September 2014.
LinksAir Jetstream
31 G-GAVA in 2014
|
Stobart Air 2014 -
Aer Arran changed
its corporate name to Stobart Air in 2014 and flights started to operate
under Stobart flight numbers and callsigns from August, continuing the
Aer Lingus franchise operation and operating the Dublin to Ronaldsway route
in Aer Lingus colours. The Stobart Group is the airlines largest
shareholder, having first acquired a shareholding in the company in 2010.
Stobart Air ATR42-300
EI-CBK in 2014
|
Stobart Air ATR72-600
EI-FAU in 2014
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Stobart Air ATR72-200
EI-REI in 2016
|
Stobart Air ATR72-600
EI-FMK in 2017
|
|