Blue Islands Welcomes 46-seat ATR Aircraft to Fleet

The Channel Islands’ airline Blue Islands has this week been awarded a full AOC (Air Operators Licence) to operate ATR aircraft. This heralds a new era for the airline and a welcome development for passengers.

Their first 46-seat ATR 42-320 joins the fleet of Jetstreams and Dorniers to raise inter-island air travel to a new quality level.

Derek Coates Chairman of Blue Islands commented, “This is the first ATR of a new fleet that we will be using to open new air routes out of the island and to ensure that there is another locally owned operator of larger aircraft to safeguard our vital air links.

Earlier this year Blue Islands used an ATR 42 as part of a customer research project to find out what inter-island customers want. Passengers gave it a very warm welcome saying that it gave a much smoother, more comfortable and quieter ride, especially in turbulent weather than Trislanders. The Jetstreams were also much preferred to Trislanders, but the over-head baggage lockers were a welcome improvement on the new ATR.

Paul Sabin, Blue Islands’ Managing Director said: The introduction of the new aircraft is in line with our aim of providing ever improving standards for our passengers. The Jetstream, which has serviced the Guernsey-Jersey route since 2006, is a significant improvement in terms of comfort compared with the Trislander, and the arrival of the more spacious ATR is a further step in this direction.’

The ATR 42 will operate alongside the 31-seat Dornier 328 which will continue to service the Swiss routes. New, recently trained cabin crew have been appointed and additional experienced flight crew have been recruited whilst other crews are undergoing training.

Ian Le Moigne, Commercial Manager added; ‘As a customer focused airline it’s vital that we keep in touch with our customers’ needs and expectations, the arrival of a 46 seat aircraft provides new improved arrangements for Group Travel that will benefit sports teams, music ensembles, theatre troupes or just groups of friends looking to book a weekend away. We welcome enquiries from anyone interested in group bookings at our Blue Islands website www.blueislands.com/grouptravel or phone reservations 08456 202122.