With very little publicity beyond the a story in the Oxford Mail, a couple of travel industry mags and blogs, and a short item in the Sunday Times business section, the UK begat a new airline earlier this month in the form of Varsity Express. Martin Halstead is the character behind the enterprise. Now 23, he was dubbed “Baby Branson” when at 19 he founded the short-lived Alpha One Airways. Hopes are higher for this new venture. Service kicks off with a weekday Oxford-Edinburgh service launching on 1st March, which goes to double weekday from 15th April, the second flight routing via Newcastle. The opening offer is an all-in one-way fare of only £49. The pundits suspect that this will soon be going up given the constraints of the 15-seat Jetstream being used.
Tags: Varsity Express