Eastern Airways to buy Air Southwest
20.09.10
Eastern Airways has reached an agreement with Sutton Harbour Group to buy its wholly owned subsidiary, Air Southwest. The agreement is subject to regulatory approval, with legal completion expected next month. The deal will see Eastern Airways, the UK’s second largest regional airline, develop its business and expand its network into the South West of England.
Plymouth based Sutton Harbour Group formed Air Southwest in 2003 and the airline currently operates from 12 airports using a fleet of 50-seat Dash 8 300 turbo-prop aircraft with 135 staff. Eastern Airways is an independent airline based at Humberside Airport with key hubs in Aberdeen, Newcastle and Southampton and a network of scheduled routes primarily serving business passengers from 21 airports in the UK, Ireland, Norway and France.
As part of the deal, the Air Southwest brand will continue to be used in South West England for the Plymouth, Newquay and Bristol routes with Eastern Airways brand continuing on the company’s core routes from the East coast, Midlands, North of England and North East Scotland. Eastern Airways’ fleet will increase to 35 aircraft with the addition of the 5 Air Southwest planes.
Richard Lake, managing director of Eastern Airways, said: ‘As market leaders in our respective catchment areas, this deal makes perfect sense and gives us an greater reach across the UK. Air Southwest is well regarded by its customers. We want to ensure we retain that loyalty by continuing to offer excellent service and value for money.'
‘The integration of the two airlines allows greater operational flexibility and efficiency, as we can look into synergies by bringing both networks and fleets closer together.’
Add to: del.icio.us | Digg it | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
To book hotel near humberside airport or park humberside airport at the lowest price, click on these links to two great humberside airport car parking and humberside airport hotel price comparison websites.
