During last week’s visit by a delegation from the United Arab Emirates, one of the delegates suggested that the best thing that Jersey could do to support tourism would be to buy and operate its own airline – while Ports of Jersey chief executive Doug Bannister says that the idea is not on their radar, he says that they could ultimately do it if it made financial sense.
The proposals that could see the Ports of Jersey turned into a self-funding and States-owned company went out to consultation yesterday before a final decision by the States at the end of the year and a possible implementation date between April and July 2015.
Asked whether the suggestion from the UAE delegate could fly, Mr Bannister said: “It’s an interesting idea but it comes down to the operating structure of the airline and its mission, and whether it’s opportunistic or whether it’s similar to Aurigny, which the States of Guernsey treat as a strategic asset.
“There might be a possibility of operating charters to places that we do not currently have routes to. It could be partnering up with people who have a record of doing this.”
The plans released yesterday included independently-assessed financial projections which say that the ports would be able to make enough money to cover the huge cost of maintaining and upgrading the ports, cranes and runways (estimated at £300 million over 25 years) and still hand back something to the States’ coffers.
The deal proposed stipulates that they would not be able to raise prices by more than RPI and that staffing costs will rise in line with cost-of-living.