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Jersey European Airways (Uk) Ltd. Business Information, Profile, and History

Exeter International Airport
Exeter, Devon EX5 2BD
United Kingdom

Company Perspectives:

The new millennium has seen a period of evolution for the airline. Following a change of brand to British European, the next stage of the development came on 18th July 2002, with the launch of a new airline name, FlyBE. Along with the new image came a raft of fundamental changes to the business, with new deals for both the customer and the travel trade. FlyBE has blended the innovative style of the new breed of airlines yet retained the service values customers have a right to expect.

History of Jersey European Airways (Uk) Ltd.

Jersey European Airways (UK) Ltd. is the third largest airline in the United Kingdom. The company, which began marketing itself under the name "FlyBE" in 2002, calls itself the largest independently owned regional airline in Europe. FlyBE flys about four million passengers a year to 17 domestic and 25 international destinations. About 80 percent of its bookings were made online. Due to its evolution as a regional carrier, FlyBE is unique in maintaining a headquarters and hub in relatively rural Exeter. However, this has helped the airline carve its own niche. As company Managing Director Jim French put it, "We are enabling the population living outside London and the southeast to enjoy the same benefits of low-fare travel as the city dwellers."

Jersey Origins

The growth of the Channel Islands as a tourist destination in the 1950s and 1960s led to the formation of a number of small airlines to compete with ferryboats. One of these, Intra Airways, was established in Jersey in 1969 to operate war surplus DC-3 aircraft.

Intra merged with Express Air Services (EAS) ten years later to form Jersey European Airways (JEA). EAS soon left the partnership, however. JEA replaced its DC-3s with a variety of smaller, newer island-hopping commuter aircraft.

Walker Aviation Group of Lancashire then acquired JEA in 1983. Walker also owned a small airline, Spacegrand, which flew routes from Northern England (Blackpool) to Ireland and the Isle of Man. Jack Walker, founder of Walkersteel, had established a base in Jersey for tax reasons. He had originally founded Spacegrand in 1980 as an air taxi for Walkersteel executives; in 1982 it had contracted with JEA's sister maintenance unit.

Exeter, a city of 100,000 people in rural southwest England, became the hub linking the two route networks and became the company's headquarters when JEA and Spacegrand were amalgamated in 1985. The next year, JEA expanded its capacity with three Shorts SD360 aircraft. JEA carried 160,000 passengers in 1985; its annual revenues were less than £9 million.

In 1989, the ten-year-old maintenance operation, JEA (Engineering) Ltd., was moved to Exeter, where it acquired Westcountry Aviation Services. The unit, JEA's sister company under Walker Aviation ownership, was then renamed Jersey European Technical Services. It had 180 workers in 1991 and grew to employ 450 people by 2001.

JEA, the airline, had 200 employees at the start of the 1990s. Passenger count rose 40 percent in 1990 to 460,000. The growing airline started the 1990s with a new corporate livery. JEA began flying to London in 1991 from Guernsey and Jersey.

David McCulloch was JEA managing director from the end of 1991 to May 1992. He was replaced for a time by Walker Aviation Managing Director Trefor Jones. Then in September 1992 JEA hired Barry Perrott, a British Airways alumnus, as chief executive.

Jets Acquired 1993

In 1993, JEA added three BAe 146 "Whisper Jets" to its fleet, which then consisted primarily of Fokker F-27 turboprops. A fourth BAe 146 was soon added to connect Belfast and Birmingham. Business Class service was introduced around this time. The Exeter hub was being supplemented by connections at London and Birmingham.

JEA posted pretax profits of £1.8 million on turnover of £51.7 million in fiscal 1995. The airline was again in expansion mode. The previous year, the airline had lost £3.7 million; it had returned one of its leased BAe 146s and trimmed 40 employees from its workforce.

In the mid-1990s, JEA leased a full-size airliner to fly to Amsterdam. JEA acquired its seventh BAe 146 in 1995. A code-share arrangement with Air Inter allowed JEA to offer London (Stansted) and Marseilles. In October 1996 the airline began operating routes from London to Lyons and Toulouse on behalf of Air France. A Birmingham-Paris route soon followed. However, a promising stock offering planned for November 1998 was canceled when the market for airline stocks collapsed. The airline had been expected to be valued at £100 million.

New Names in 2000, 2002

Five more BAe 146s were acquired in 1997. Another series of route extensions followed the April 1999 order for 11 Dash 8 turboprops and four Canadair Regional Jets (both aircraft produced by Canada's Bombardier). The order was worth £160 million ($250 million). The new capacity allowed the route network to expand to Dublin and Edinburgh.

JEA was the leading carrier at both London City and Belfast City, in spite of recent incursions into the Northern Ireland market from budget carriers easyJet and Ryanair. JEA's schedules were more oriented towards business travelers than those of these two upstarts.

In June 2000, a change of name to British European was effected to reflect the carrier's international work with Air France and the extension of the network into Scotland. (There was no relation to the former British European Airways Corporation.)

By 2001, BE was flying to several major cities in the British Isles and France; Air France contracted for Glasgow-Paris service. BE, which had 1,200 employees, operated 1,100 flights per week, including some charters. Revenues were £162 million in fiscal 2000; sister company British European Aviation Services took in £14 million. Walker Aviation's aircraft leasing business accounted for another £8 million.

The Regional Jets were dropped from the fleet in 2001, though the carrier continued to operate BAe 146 jets, which could take off from shorter runways. BE had planned to be the launch customer for the BAe 146's replacement, the RJX, but BAe canceled that program.

BE was able to pick up routes from Gill Airways and Sabena when they were grounded. A July 2001 marketing agreement with Delta Air Lines gave BE a share of its traffic beyond London. BE signed another codeshare agreement with Continental Airlines in September 2002.

BE then faced a number of serious challenges that resulted in £30 million in losses in just two years. The 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States and Britain's mad cow crisis both conspired to cut traffic.

Barry Perrott, British European's CEO for the previous nine years, resigned in June 2001 to be replaced by Jim French. French had begun working for Jersey European in 1989 following positions with Air UK and others.

JEA was relaunched on July 18, 2002, as a budget, Internet-based, consumer-oriented airline under the brand name "FlyBE." Within a year the carrier would be able to announce that 80 percent of its bookings were being made online. FlyBe celebrated this achievement by offering special fares, as low as £12 between Belfast and Birmingham.

Turnover reached £213 million in fiscal 2003, though the company struggled to regain profitability. Revenues were expected to climb to £236 million in fiscal 2004.

A significant route expansion was announced in 2003, including the addition of hubs at Bristol and Southampton. One testament to FlyBE's influence was British Airways' abandonment of the Southampton-Jersey and Southampton-Belfast markets in the summer of 2003.

FlyBE was launching more services to France and one to Spain in March 2004. Up to 11 more European routes were in the works for 2005. The airline was discussing options for larger short-haul aircraft along the lines of the Boeing 737 or Airbus A319 used by other low-cost carriers. These were to replace the company's fleet of smaller BAe 146s.

After losing £28 million in two years of transition to a low-cost business model, FlyBE was beginning to post profits again. With FlyBE flying high and boosting market share, observers were anticipating a public stock offering for the airline by 2006.

Principal Competitors: Aer Lingus Group Plc; Aurigny Air Services Limited; British Airways Plc; easyJet Airline Co. Ltd.; Ryanair Holdings plc; ScotAirways.

Related information about Jersey

pop (2000e) 90 000; area 116 km族/45 sq mi. Largest of the Channel Is, lying W of Normandy; chief languages, English with some Norman-French; airport; ferries to UK and France; capital, St Helier; noted for its dairy farming (Jersey cattle) and potatoes; tourism; Jersey Zoological Park founded by Gerald Durrell in 1959; underground German headquarters from World War 2.

The Bailiwick of Jersey (J竪rriais: J竪rri) is a British Crown dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, it also includes the uninhabited islands of the Minquiers and Ecr辿hous, the Pierres de Lecq and other rocks and reefs. Along with the Bailiwick of Guernsey it forms the grouping known as the Channel Islands. The defence of all these islands is the responsibility of the United Kingdom. However, Jersey is not part of the UK, nor the European Union, but is rather a separate possession of the Crown, comparable to the Isle of Man. Among theories are that it derives from jarth (Norse: earth), or jarl, or in the case of Jerseys sister island Guernsey gers (Frisian: grass) or Geirr (a personal name).

The island was eventually annexed to the Duchy of Normandy by William Longsword, Duke of Normandy in 933. His descendant, William the Conqueror, conquered England in 1066, which led to the Duchy of Normandy and the kingdom of England being governed under one monarch. King John lost all his territories in mainland Normandy in 1204 to King Philip II Augustus, but retained possession of Jersey, along with Guernsey and the other Channel Islands. The islands have been internally self-governing since.

Islanders became involved with the Newfoundland fisheries in the 17th century. In recognition for all the help given to him during his exile in Jersey in the 1640s, Charles II gave George Carteret, Bailiff and governor, a large grant of land in the American colonies, which he promptly named New Jersey, now part of the United States of America. The Jersey way of life involved agriculture, fishing, shipbuilding, and production of woollen goods until 19th century improvements in transport links brought tourism to the Island.

Jersey was occupied by Nazi Germany from 1 July, 1940, and was held until 9 May, 1945.

Politics

Jersey's legislature is the States of Jersey. It includes 53 elected members - 12 senators (elected for 6-year terms), 12 constables (heads of parishes elected for 3-year terms), 29 deputies (elected for 3-year terms); The civil head of the Island is the Bailiff.

The Jersey Democratic Alliance is the only party currently having States Members, although these were elected as independents. Stuart Syvret is often reported to be of the Jersey Green PartyGreen Islands Network.

The legal system is based on Norman customary law (including the Clameur de Haro), statute and English law;

Elizabeth II's traditional title as head of state is that of Duke of Normandy, but she does not hold that title formally. Her representative on the island is the Lieutenant Governor, Lieutenant General Andrew Ridgway who has little but a token involvement in island politics.

Parishes

Administratively, Jersey is divided into 12 parishes, all having access to the sea and named after the dedications of their ancient parish churches:

Saint Helier
Saint Saviour
Saint Clement
Grouville (historically Saint Martin de Grouville)
Saint Martin (historically Saint Martin le Vieux)
Trinity
Saint John
Saint Mary
Saint Ouen
Saint Peter
Saint Brelade
Saint Lawrence

The parishes of Jersey are further divided into vingtaines (or, in St. Ouen, cueillettes), divisions which are historic and nowadays mostly used for purposes of local administration and electoral constituency.

The Constable (or Conn辿table) is the head of each parish, elected at a public election for a three year term to run the parish and to represent the municipality in the States. The Procureur du Bien Public (two in each parish) is the legal and financial representative of the parish, elected at a public election (since 2003 in accordance with the Public Elections (Amendment) (Jersey) Law 2003; Jersey maintains a permanent non-diplomatic representation in Caen, the Maison de Jersey. A similar office in St. Helier represents the Conseil g辿n辿ral of Manche and the Conseil r辿gional of Basse-Normandie and hosts the Consulate of France.

Jersey is a member of the British-Irish Council, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the Assembl辿e parlementaire de la Francophonie. Jersey is aiming to become a full member of the Commonwealth in its own rightJersey Evening Post, 23 September 2006

The Federal Court of Justice of Germany ruled on 1 July 2002 (case: II ZR 380/00), that under German law, for the purposes of 則 110 of the German Civil Procedures Act (ZPO), Jersey is to be deemed part of the UK and part of the EU as well.

Geography

Jersey is an island measuring 118.2 square kilometres (65,569 vergee / 46 sq. mi.), including reclaimed land and intertidal zone. It lies in the English Channel, approximately 22.5 kilometres (12 mi) from the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy, France, and approximately 161 kilometres (100 mi) south of Great Britain.

Economy

Jersey's economy is based on financial services, tourism, electronic commerce and agriculture. Financial services contribute approximately half of the Island's economy.

Major agricultural products are potatoes and dairy produce. Small-scale organic beef production has been reintroduced in an effort to diversify the industry.

Farmers and growers often sell surplus food and flowers in boxes on the roadside, relying on the honesty of those who pass to drop the correct change into the money box and take what they want.

On February 18 2005, Jersey was granted Fairtrade Island status.

The absence of VAT has led to the recent growth of the 'fulfilment' industry, whereby low-value luxury items, such as videos, lingerie and contact lenses are exported to the UK, avoiding VAT on arrival and thus undercutting UK prices on the same products. The States of Jersey announced in 2005 limits on licences granted to non-resident companies trading in this way.

Duty free goods are available for purchase on travel to and from the Island.

Aside from its banking and finance underpinnings Jersey also depends on tourism. Notable hotels include:

the Pomme d?Or overlooking Liberation Square in St. Helier, from whose balcony the Liberation force raised the Union Flag on Liberation Day, 9 May 1945;
the Hotel de France, formerly the Imperial and the Jesuit college, in St. Saviour overlooking the town of St. Helier;
the Hotel L'Horizon in St. Brelade's Bay.
La Grande Vere, in St. Helier overlooking St. Aubins Bay, with views of Elizabeth Castle and the Waterfront

Taxation

Until the 20th century, the States relied on indirect taxation to finance the administration of Jersey. Income tax has been levied at a flat rate of 20% for decades.

As VAT has not been levied in the Island, luxury goods have often been cheaper than in the UK or in France providing an incentive for tourism from neighbouring countries.

On 13 May 2005 the States of Jersey approved the introduction of a goods and services tax, scheduled for 2008.

Currency

Jersey issues its own Jersey banknotes and coins which circulate with UK coinage, Bank of England notes, Scottish notes and Guernsey currency within the Island.

Coinage

Designs on the reverse of Jersey coins:

1p Le Hocq Tower (coastal defence)
2p L'Hermitage, site where Saint Helier lived
5p Seymour Tower (offshore defence)
10p La Pouquelaye de Faldouet (dolmen)
20p La Corbi竪re lighthouse
50p Grosnez Castle (ruins)

Pound coins are issued, but are much less widely used than pound notes. The motto round the milled edge of Jersey pound coins is: Insula Caesarea ("island of Jersey" in Latin). roughly 50% of the population are not originally from the island.

30% of the population is concentrated in Saint Helier, site of the only town. The largest minority groups in the island, after the British, are Portuguese (around 6% - especially Madeiran), Irish and Polish. Most Jersey-born people consider themselves British and value the special relationship between the British Crown and the Island.

The Church of England is the established church, but Methodism is traditionally strong in the countryside and there is a large Roman Catholic minority. See Religion in Jersey.

Jersey, like most places in the western world, has an ageing population.

Census

Censuses have been undertaken in Jersey since 1821, the most recent being the 2001 Census (taken 11 March on the island).

Culture

J竪rriais, the island's indigenous language is a variety of Norman. The dialects of J竪rriais differ in phonology and, to a lesser extent, lexis between parishes, with the most marked differences to be heard between those of the west and east. Anglicisation of the toponymy increased apace with the migration of English people into the island.

Some Neolithic carvings are the earliest works of artistic character to be found in Jersey. Only fragmentary wall-paintings remain from the rich mediaeval artistic heritage, after the wholesale iconoclasm of the Calvinist reformation of the 16th century.

Printing only arrived in Jersey in the 1780s, but the Island supported a multitude of regular publications in French (and J竪rriais) and English throughout the 19th century, in which poetry, most usually topical and satirical, flourished. See J竪rriais literature.

John Everett Millais, Elinor Glyn, and Wace are among Jersey's artistic figures. Lillie Langtry, the Jersey Lily, is the Island's most widely recognised cultural icon. The famous French writer, Victor Hugo, lived in exile in Jersey 1852-1855.

The Island is particularly famous for the Battle of Flowers, a carnival held annually since 1902.

The Island's patron saint is Saint Helier. Channel Television is a regional ITV franchise shared with the Bailiwick of Guernsey but with its headquarters in Jersey. The first talking picture "The Perfect Alibi" was shown on 30 December 1929 at the Picture House in St. Helier. The Odeon Cinema (now the New Forum) was opened 2 June 1952.

Since 1997 fact, Kevin Lewis (formerly of The Cine Centre and now of the New Forum) has arranged the Jersey Film Festival, a charity event showing the latest and also classic films outdoors in 35mm on a big screen.

Food and drink

Seafood has traditionally been important to the cuisine of Jersey: mussels (called moules locally), oysters, lobster and crabs — ormers, and conger.

Jersey milk being very rich, cream and butter have played a large part in insular cooking. (See Channel Island milk) However there is no indigenous tradition of cheesemaking, contrary to the custom of mainland Normandy, but some cheese is produced commercially. Jersey fudge, mostly imported and made with milk from overseas Jersey cattle herds, is a popular food product with tourists.

Jersey Royal potatoes are the local variety of new potato, and the island is famous for its early crop of small potatoes from the south-facing côtils (steeply-sloping fields).

Apples historically were an important crop. Bourdélots are apple dumplings, but the most typical speciality is black butter (lé nièr beurre), a dark spicy spread prepared from apples, cider and spices.

Among other traditional dishes are cabbage loaf, Jersey wonders (les mèrvelles), fliottes, bean crock (les pais au fou), nettle (ortchie) soup, vraic buns.

Cider used to be an important export. A large area of intertidal zone is designated as a Ramsar site.

Jersey is the home of Durrell Wildlife (formerly known as the Jersey Zoological Park) and Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust, founded by the naturalist, zookeeper, and author Gerald Durrell.

Reference

Jersey Through the Centuries, Leslie Sinel, Jersey 1984, ISBN 0-86120-003-9

Chronology

Key Dates:
1969: Intra Airways is formed in Jersey.
1979: Intra merges with Express Air Services to form Jersey European Airways (JEA).
1980: Spacegrand is established as air-taxi service in Blackpool.
1985: JEA joins Spacegrand; headquarters are relocated to Exeter.
1989: Maintenance operations are moved to Exeter.
1991: JEA enters London-Guernsey, London-Jersey markets.
1993: BAe 146 jets are added to the fleet.
2000: The company is renamed British European.
2002: The business is rebranded as FlyBE.

Additional topics

Company HistoryAirlines & Air Transport

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