Welcome
COVER PHOTO: A BA CityFlyer Embraer
170 departs from London City Airport.
AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/MATTHIEU DOUHAIREWhen it comes to bitter rivalries in aviation, the South
West of England is perhaps the most unlikely battle ground
for feuding enterprises. And yet, the popular tourist hotspot
better known for its stunning beaches and breathtak-
ing coastline now finds itself at the centre of a heated row
between two helicopter operators.
It’s a familiar transport tale – residents in the Isles of Scilly
have waited six years for a rotary wing connection to
the mainland, and then two come along at once. In one
corner is Penzance Heliport Ltd, a privately funded group
intending to launch flights from a new facility in Penzance.
In the other is Island Helicopters, an offshoot of the Isles of
Scilly Steamship Group planning to do likewise but from
the existing airport at Land’s End.
Rotary wing services to the islands were originally
launched in 1963 but ended in October 2012
after the original Penzance heliport was
closed to make way for a new supermarket.
Since then, links have been limited to fixed-
wing flights by Skybus or sea ferries, both
of which are operated by the Isles of Scilly
Steamship Group. Indeed, the latter has
long-maintained there is insufficient traffic
on the route to support additional
capacity beyond its already established sea
and air links. It is on this basis the firm
launched a judicial review against Penzance
Heliport Ltd and its new heliport last year,
plans for which had previously beenunanimously approved by Cornwall Council. This makes
the Steamship Group’s decision to introduce its own
helicopter service all the more surprising, and comes at a
time when it has entangled its rival in legal proceedings
(a public petition against which has attracted more than
10,000 signatures).
While some would argue this is simply business, others
have criticised the move, particularly Penzance Heliport
Ltd which has become embroiled in a rather unsavoury
war of words with its rival.
There’s little doubt competition in the market is good
for consumers and good for business. It can help to drive
down fares, improve the overall quality of service, and
it can push innovation. But for the Isles of Scilly, it’s
more than a simple rivalry – it’s about providing a vital,
reliable and resilient lifeline to a remote
community which can be cut off from the
mainland, especially during the winter
when the ferry doesn’t operate and
when poor weather disrupts fixed-wing
operations. For the sake of local residents,
one hopes these companies can settle
their differences and find an amicable
solution...Craig West
EditorTHIS PHOTO: Island
Helicopters' AW169.
ISLAND HELICOPTERSThe Team
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Subscriptions Department,
Airliner World (ISSN: 1465-6337), is published
monthly by, Key Publishing Ltd, P0 Box 300,
Stamford, Lincs, PE9 1NA, UK.
Telephone: +44 (0) 1780 480404
(0900 - 17.30 GMT Mon - Fri)
Fax:+44 (0) 1780 757812.
E-Mail: [email protected]
Airliner World distributed in the USA by UKP
Worldwide, 3390 Rand Road, South Plainfield,
NJ 07080. Periodicals postage paid at
Rahway, NJ and at additional mailing offices
Readers in USA can place subscriptions by
visiting http://www.airlinerworld.com or by calling
toll free 800-428-3003 or fax 757-428-
or by writing to Airliner World, 3300 Pacific
Ave, Ste 500, Virginia Beach, VA23451-COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR
Ann Saundry
PRODUCTION
Production Manager Janet Watkins
MARKETING
Group Marketing Manager Martin Steele
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN
Richard Cox
MANAGING DIRECTOR & PUBLISHER
Adrian Cox
EDITORIAL & ADVERTISING OFFICES
Airliner World, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs,
PE91XQ, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1780 755131
Fax: +44 (0)1780 757261
EMAIL: [email protected]
WEB: http://www.airlinerworld.comThe entire contents of Airliner World is ©
copyright, and no part of it may be reproduced
in any form or stored on any form of retrieval
system without the prior permission of the
publisher.
All items submitted for publication are sub-
ject to our terms and conditions.These are
regularly updated without prior notice and are
freely available from Key Publishing Ltd or
downloadable from http://www.keypublishing.comWe are unable to guarantee the bona fi des of
any of our advertisers. Readers are strongly
recommended to take their own precautions
before parting with any information or item
of value, including, but not limited to, money,
manuscripts, photographs or personal informa-
tion in response to any advertisements within
this publication.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
Airliner World, Key Publishing Ltd C/O 3390
Rand Road, South Plainfield NJ 07080.
DISTRIBUTED (UK) BY: Seymour Distribution
Ltd, 2 Poultry Avenue, London EC1A 9PP.
Tel: 020 7429 4000 Fax: 020 7429 4001The average sale for the period
Jan - Dec 2016 was 31,
copies monthlyCraig West
Editor
Barry Woods-Turner
News Editor
James Ronayne
Assistant Editor
Andy Martin
Contributing Editor
Nigel Price
Group Editor
Steve Donovan
Group Art Editor
Andy O’Neil
Art Editor
Andy Mason
Advertising Manager
Kay Townsin
Production Controller
Sue Blunt
Production Editor
Carol Randall
Dep. Production Editor
Norman Wells
Sue Campbell
Sub-Editors4 AIRLINER WORLD APRIL 2018
To fi nd a stockist near you,
visit http://www.airlinerworld.com
PRINTED IN ENGLAND BY: Warners
(Midland) plc, Bourne, Lincs. UK