Regional airline Flybe is removing its last BAE146 jet from service next week, as it moves towards a two-type aircraft fleet.
The aircraft will make a final positioning flight from Guernsey to Exeter on Sunday October 27, and enthusiasts can buy tickets for the commemorative flight. Flybe will replace the aircraft with Dash 8 Q400 turboprops on the route between London Gatwick and Guernsey.
The BAE146 is still used by several carriers flying into and out of London City airport, but in recent years it has come under scrutiny for alleged incidences of polluted cabin air caused by faulty engine seals (for an indepth report on Toxic Air Syndrome, see our special report in the March 2008 edition of Business Traveller).
The removal of the BAE146 from the London-Guernsey route signals the end of jet services between the UK mainland and the Channel Island. Aurigny Air Services flies from both Gatwick and Stansted, using ATR 72-200 turboprops. Flybe is gradually moving towards operating just two types of aicraft in its fleet - the Dash 8 Q400 and Embraer 195.
For more information visit flybe.com, aurigny.com.
Report by Mark Caswell
