Aurigny wins European Regions Airline Association’s Airline of the Year Silver Award

The Guernsey based airline Aurigny has been voted runner up in the European Regions Airline Association’s (ERA) prestigious ‘Airline of the Year’ Awards. The announcement was made at the awards evening, held as part of ERA’s annual conference in Berlin. Aurigny competed against 51 other regional airlines.

Aurigny’s CEO, Mark Darby, says: “I’m delighted, on behalf of everyone at Aurigny, to have won this award. It is recognition of our commitment to providing frequent, fair priced and quality air transport links for the people of the Channel Islands and visitors to the islands from the UK and further afield. It’s a great honour that our efforts are recognised by an industry organisation as prestigious as the ERA.”

He continues: “Aurigny has been in business for 47 years and the award commends our recent transition into the operation of jet aircraft and the way we strive to strengthen and diversify air links on behalf of the relatively small communities of Guernsey and Alderney. But, we aren’t resting on our laurels. We’ve just completed our busiest ever summer where our team has continued to deliver great service and value for money – often in challenging circumstances and we’re now looking forward to 2016 and the launch of some exciting new routes.”

An independent judging panel comprising aviation experts and industry journalists made special mention of Aurigny for:

• Being at the heart of the local communities it serves and playing a key role in providing them with extensive air connectivity and capacity, notably on the London Gatwick route following Flybe’s withdrawal.
• The speed and ease of the introduction of its new Embraer 195 jet. The process, from firm order to delivery, was achieved in just ten months.
• Swiftly opening up a new weekday service between Guernsey and London City at the request of Guernsey’s finance community.

Aurigny is 100% owned by Guernsey’s government, the States of Guernsey. It operates a “lifeline” route between the island and London Gatwick six times per day on weekdays, and five at weekends. Its other “lifeline” routes connect the small island of Alderney with Guernsey and Southampton. Aurigny flies to eleven destinations in the UK, Channel Islands and Europe. It operates a fleet comprising one Embraer 195 jet, two ATR 72-500s, one ATR 72-200, one ATR 42-500, two Dornier 228s and three Britten-Norman Trislanders. The company employs over 250 people, mainly in Guernsey, but with a significant base in Alderney and an operation in Southampton. In March 2018, the airline will celebrate 50 years in business.