The last flight out

The second post this week which uses photos supplied by readers - thanks for these they are always welcome!
©Nick Aldous
I watched the last flight to London from Plymouth leave this afternoon, and took some pics for posterity. They were taken with a compact through the very dirty terminal windows, as I didn't quite feel like waving around a large DSLR in an airport. They are thus not of stellar quality, but I have cleaned them up a bit in Photoshop for you.
I was amazed to be the only person there at all, as I was half expecting Spotlight and/or the Herald to be in attendance. I found it a bit sad to be standing in a deserted airport, watching a flight that had existed since 1972 departing for the final time and also leaving the whole airport's future in doubt..
A sad end to a long standing service. How much longer will we have an airport at all? Its certainly prime development land in a very busy location.

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Related Links

• Air South West goes East Plymothian Transit December 2010
• Better transport links needed Plymothian Transit May 2009
• Fancy a Dash to London? Plymothian Transit March 2009

Elsewhere on the net

• Graham's blog at Plymothian Transport is carrying an entry at the moment illustrating the return of Mayflower Link route 93 branding. Rather than copy what he has put, I thought I'd share some of my experiences of route 93.. Southern England Bus Scene
• Northamptonshire stated it was prepared to go further than any to date. It’s proposing an end to *all* subsidised bus services. Will others follow? . Omnibuses
• We left our tale of cartographic complication with the South Yorkshire PTE maps of the early eighties - maps which died a death in response to the turmoil of deregulation of the bus industry in 1986. Public Transport Experience
• July 1926 saw the introduction of service 4 from Adelaide Street to Halfway House via Lytham Road, Watson Road and St. Annes Road with a 20 minute frequency provided. Fylde Bus Blog

Air South West goes East

The sale of Plymouth-based airline Air Southwest to Eastern Airways has been completed, it has been announced.
Sutton Harbour Holdings made the decision to sell in May after the airline's operating profits fell. The company said it lost £7m in the sale, but added that joining a larger company gave it the best opportunity for a positive future. Sutton Harbour is still owner of Plymouth City Airport. Air Southwest was created in 2003. The company employs about 150 people and flies to UK regional airports, as well as the Republic of Ireland and the Channel Islands. The airline is expected to continue flying under its existing brand and staff will be employed by Air Southwest
BBC
Creative Commons licensed flickr photo shared by Ingy the Wingy
Humberside-based Eastern Airways employs 420 staff and operates a fleet of 30 aircraft serving 21 destinations in the UK, Ireland, Norway and France.

Creative Commons licensed flickr photo shared by John Oram

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Related articles

• Flybe goes on the hunt for acquisitions (independent.co.uk)
• Getting the most out of your aeroplane (upyourego.com)

Fancy a Dash to London?

"quicker than the train, cheaper than the train”       (so they say!)   Elsewhere…   TGP is stumped

©54North on Flickr - Air Southwest Bombardier Dash 8 300 landing at Leeds Bradford . CITY airline Air Southwest has today announced it is ‘set to revolutionise travel between Plymouth and London’ with a new route flying direct from Plymouth to the heart of the capital. The airline has announced a new twice-daily direct service from Plymouth to London City Airport which it pledges will ‘fly to the heart of London in just over an hour’. More on This is Plymouth (archived link) The comments are as usual most entertaining!

Odds and ends

A few bits of news to catch my eye tonight:

It is reported on the South West Bus Group that Plymouth Citybus have ordered another 8 Dennis Dart MPDs for Mercedes 709 replacement. I am a bit surprised they have returned to Dennis as they were not that happy with the last batch - but then I guess there isn't much choice for this sized bus at the moment as they have already rejected the Optare Solo as unsuitable.
The ex Park & Ride 205 now in standard livery is being trialled on several of the Merc Mini routes and is ok on all but two of them (18 and 22).

Citybus have also confirmed that they are taking over the 52 from FDC (Saltash end - to be renumbered the 152) and the Tavistock 98s. Looks like nothing for Glenholt residents!

I haven't reported much on Air Transport in Plymouth so to start us off try this story

More than 50 people were stranded at Plymouth Airport yesterday after their flight to Newcastle failed to show up.Air Wales has apologised after the 7am flight from Plymouth to Newcastle, stopping in Wales, failed to arrive.Passengers claimed the flight never actually existed, and that Air Wales did not run the service on Bank Holidays despite taking bookings from almost 60 passengers beforehand. ...
[This is Plymouth ]