Manx Airlines

Manx Airlines (1953) An earlier Manx Airlines was established in 1947 as Manx Air Charters and renamed in 1953. It was based at Ronaldsway Airport, Isle of Man, and equipped with De Havilland Dragon Rapides and Douglas C-47 Dakotas. The airline also operated the Bristol Freighter and its aircraft were equipped with passenger modules. One of this airline's Bristol Freighters crashed on 27 February 1958 in the Winter Hill air disaster. The airline was absorbed by Silver City Airways in 1958 and then merged with Channel Air Bridge to form British United Air Ferries in 1963. Manx Airlines (1982) The new Manx Airlines was a joint venture founded by British Midland Airways (75%) and AirUK (25%). The fleet comprised a pair of Fokker F27s, one each leased from the parent airlines, and a Vickers Viscount 810 leased from British Midland. Services commenced on 1 November 1982 with the first flight, JE601 from Isle of Man to Glasgow, operated by an Embraer Bandeirante wet leased from Genair. The initial schedule from Isle of Man was three times daily to Liverpool, twice daily to Belfast, Glasgow, Heathrow, and Manchester, and once daily to Blackpool and Dublin. The airline also operated a twice daily service between Liverpool and Belfast. In 1983 services to Belfast moved from Belfast International to the newly opened Belfast City Airport. In June 1988 ABH acquired Air UK's 25% stake in Manx, making the airline a wholly owned subsidiary of ABH. In mid-1987 the airline announced plans to upgrade the Isle of Man to Heathrow service to all jet operation with DC-9 aircraft. Unable to acquire its own jets, a BAC 1-11 was leased from Airways International Cymru for the London route. Later in 1987 Manx acquired its first jet aircraft, a BAe 146-100 registered G-OJET leased from BAe, which entered service on the flagship Heathrow route replacing the BAC 1-11. Since its founding five years earlier, Manx had primarily operated the Heathrow route with Viscounts provided by parent British Midland or leased from other operators. With the introduction of jets in 1987 and the arrival of the first BAe ATP in 1988, the Viscounts were retired with Manx organising a series of 'champagne' flights around the island on 19 October. The final scheduled Viscount flight in to Heathrow operated that afternoon. In 1989 a new £1 million maintenance hangar for the airline opened at Ronaldsway Airport which became a CAA approved facility for BAe ATP maintenance. at Dublin Airport in 1993. == Expansion and sale ==

;Manx Airlines Europe In March 1991, Manx Airlines created Manx Airlines Europe in order to expand and fly routes within the United Kingdom from a base at Cardiff Airport. Two Jetstream 31 aircraft were obtained from BAe with services starting on 25 March 1991. At a press conference on 27 March 1991, Manx announced orders for two of the larger Jetstream 41 aircraft following the rollout of the type at Prestwick that day. The order was later increased to five aircraft, with the first aircraft G-WAWR delivered on 25 November 1992 and entering service in early 1993. In 1993 a larger BAe 146-200 registered G-MIMA was leased to replace the BAe 146-100 which was returned to the manufacturer. Two additional ATPs and a second BAe 146-200 (G-MANS) were leased in early 1994 following the transfer of some routes from British Midland. In April 1994 it was announced that Loganair would become a franchise partner of British Airways, operating as British Airways Express in Scotland with its remaining fleet of Shorts 360, BN-2 Islander, and Twin Otter aircraft. The restructuring was completed in July 1994. ;British Regional Airlines In September 1996, Airlines of Britain announced it would split its regional airlines into a separate grouping which would enable it to increase its franchise links with British Airways while British Midland looked to increase ties with Lufthansa. The new airline was renamed the British Regional Airlines Group (BRAL). At the same time, British Airways closed down its own 'Highlands' division and transferred the routes to British Regional Airlines which would operate them as a British Airways Express franchise partner alongside its existing franchise routes. Airlines of Britain Holdings also acquired Business Air in 1996 which was absorbed in to BRAL. In 1998 British Regional Airlines Group floated on the London Stock Exchange. In late 1998, Manx changed its corporate identity and introduced a new livery featuring a dark belly and a new Triskelion tail canvas. In March 2001, British Airways purchased the British Regional Airlines Group, holding company of British Regional Airlines and Manx Airlines, for £78 million. British Regional Airlines then merged with Brymon Airways to create British Airways CitiExpress, with Manx Airlines continuing to operate as a stand-alone operation. In mid-2002 it was announced that Manx Airlines would also be integrated in to the new regional carrier. Between March 1999 and the date of closure, the fleet was as follows: Manx Airlines ceased operations on 31 August 2002. The last flight was planned to be flown by BAe 146 G-MIMA, from London (Gatwick) to Isle of Man Airport (Ronaldsway). However, due to technical problems, a sub-chartered aircraft was brought in to operate this service. Therefore, the honour of operating the last Manx Airlines flight (JE 818 Birmingham to Ronaldsway) went to Manx-born pilot Captain Paul Quine, who was in command of ATP G-MANB, which landed at Ronaldsway at 20:10 GMT on Saturday, 31 August 2002. == Fleet ==

Manx Airlines operated the following types of aircraft: • Vickers Viscount • Fokker F27 Friendship • Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante (Wet leased from Genair) • BAC 1-11 (Leased from Airways International Cymru in 1987) • BAe ATP • Jetstream 31 • Jetstream 41 • BAe 146 • de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter • Embraer ERJ 145 (BRAL Aircraft, Operated by Manx in 1998 on Southampton - Isle of Man) • Piper PA-23 • Piper PA-31 (Chartered from City Air Links between 1983-1984 to serve Isle of Man - Blackpool) • Saab 340 • Shorts 330 • Shorts 360 ==See also==