Blue Islands has issued a statement regarding inter-island flights between Jersey and Guernsey following the announcement that the airline's code share with Aurigny will come to an end in March, and subsequent press reports.
In the statement, Blue Islands says: "Following the announcement of the non-renewal of the code share... there has been much speculation in the media regarding the future of inter-island travel, including many who have commented that Aurigny will no longer ‘operate’ a route between Guernsey and Jersey. Aurigny has not operated a service between Guernsey and Jersey for almost two years, since the code share was introduced in March 2014. The service has been continuously operated by Blue Islands on Blue Islands’ aircraft, with a set seat allocation for Aurigny on every flight. There is also a dedicated spare back up ATR on standby to ensure a robust and effective operation.
"Therefore we are surprised at the 'concerns' that have been reported, especially from sporting communities around the non-renewal of the code share. Blue Islands will continue to operate the service as we have for the past two years. The big benefit for sporting groups is that Blue Islands will now be able to sell all seats on any flight, without the restrictions and limitations that were dictated by the code share agreement. This will create better access and flexibility for travel between Guernsey and Jersey. As such, we already have a number of large group bookings, including additional flights scheduled to operate for events such as the Hockey inter-insulars and the Dance Festival to name but two.
"It will be particularly comforting to the sporting community to learn that Blue Islands are happy to announce that they will also participate in a new working party that is about to be set up. This new group will include Condor, the Guernsey Sports Commission and their Jersey counterparts. The working party will assess the issues related to large events that might take place in either Guernsey or Jersey whereupon large numbers of people might wish to visit the other island to spectate or participate. Whilst this emphasis might appear to be focussed on sporting events, cultural and musical events will also be taken in to consideration by the group.
"In the meantime, Blue Islands continue to request that sporting teams contact Blue Islands with their sporting requirements to allow us to better understand and plan for travel requirements either directly or through our website at www.blueislands.com/sports.
"In respect of concerns regarding the number of seats available between the islands, Rob Veron, Blue Islands’ Managing Director said: 'In November 2015 the Air Route Licencing Board removed a 10% restriction on Flybe’s inter-island licence, adding up to 60,000 additional seats to a market of 128,000, creating an over-supply that is in our view unsustainable. It was a decision made without consultation with ourselves that has become a significant concern for us as an operator. Our greatest concern is the danger of ill-informed decisions being made by lay members of a potent licencing board that contradict the basis of previous decisions made by the wider States. There are now 233,000 seats available for a travelling market of 128,000. We would wish to assure all inter-island travellers that there is certainly no cause for concern regarding the availability of seats.
"'One of the consequences of this naive licencing decision, was the mutually agreed termination by Aurigny and Blue Islands of the code share agreement. [The Commernce & Employment Department at the States of Guernsey] have a lot to answer in this regard by disrupting an orderly and sustainable market. Corrections will have to be made in the near future to maintain the robust and sustainable service that all members of our community deserve.
"Mr Veron added: 'Blue Islands, as previously stated, is fully committed to serving our islands’ business, tourism and leisure travelling communities and only by fully meeting the needs of our customers can we expect their support and our own success.'
"We would highlight that whilst we have stated our intention to discuss with Flybe a potential franchise agreement (this is still very much at the exploratory stage), currently there remains an increased level of competition and supply of seat capacity to the inter-island market significantly over and above that that existed prior to our codeshare agreement with Aurigny."