Airline unveils new route to central London
The firm yesterday announced a recession-busting twice-daily service from Newquay and Plymouth to City Airport, near east London's Docklands business district.
The earliest of the industry-friendly services will get Westcountry passengers to within three miles of Canary Wharf by 9.30am.
It will take one hour and twenty minutes from Plymouth and one hour forty-five minutes from Newquay.
The brainchild of recently-appointed chief executive Peter Davies after consulting Westcountry business leaders, the move has been welcomed as a massive confidence boost for Westcountry firms given the current gloom.
Mr Davies said Air Southwest was in "expansive mood" and determined to "reinvent itself", adding there were "opportunities" to widen the airline's route network from Devon and Cornwall to potentially include Paris and Amsterdam.
Fares on the flights, which start on April 20, will begin at £29 each way, including taxes, charges and baggage.
But Air Southwest, which already operates a four-times daily service to Gatwick from Newquay and Plymouth, said the low cost was a promotional offer to make passengers aware of how close to the heart of the capital the service can get.
Mr Davies said the firm was trying to lure passengers off the train and onto the plane.
"This London City service will revolutionise air travel between Devon and Cornwall and the capital," he said.
"We expect it to be hugely popular with business travellers and have timed the flights to fit with busy working lives. Day return rail travel to the capital is costly and time-consuming.
"With our new service our customers will save hours of travelling time, with great value fares.
"It is also ideal for a short break in London, and will help increase inbound tourism to both Devon and Cornwall."
Air Southwest was keen to stress the route was not a shot across the bows of Westcountry-based rival Flybe.
In February, the Exeter airline started to fly between Newquay and Gatwick three times a day on weekdays, a move that was seen by some commentators as an attempt to kill off regional competition from Air Southwest.
But Mr Davies said he "does not stay awake at night because of Flybe".
He added: "This is a proactive decision based on the research we have done. There is always competition in the airline business."
On weekdays, the first service of the day is scheduled to depart from Newquay at 7.45am, picking up passengers from Plymouth at 8.20am, before touching down at London City at 9.30am.
There is also an afternoon service, taking off from Newquay at 4.50pm, that arrives at 6.35pm. There are corresponding return flights, meaning passengers could be back in Cornwall by 8.50pm after a day's work in London.
Tim Jones, chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council, welcomed the news, saying "time is money for business travellers, especially in the current climate".
Malcolm Bell, chief executive of South West Tourism, said: "These flights create a vast new catchment in central London that will be a valuable addition to inbound tourism to Devon and Cornwall, especially in the short break market."
Peter Davies, chief executive of Air Southwest
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