18-year-old launches airline

An 18-year-old has launched his very own airline, offering flights between the UK’s university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, having given up his A-levels in order to learn to fly. According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, Martin Halstead’s Alpha 1 Airways will launch a twice-daily return service on April 18, with flights lasting 20 minutes (the journey takes around two hours by road) and single fares costing up to £49. He reportedly says that “dozens” of academics, business people and tourists travel between the two cities every day. Halstead is quoted as saying: “Flying has been my passion since I first boarded an aircraft at the age of six. I have never wanted to be anything other than a pilot but I did not imagine that I would own an airline rather than fly for one.” He told the Telegraph that he decided on the route having discovered that both cities’ airports were already investigating launching such a service. The newspaper reports that Alpha 1 will charter eight-seater planes from the operator AirMed but will provide all customer services. James Dillon-Godfray, head of marketing and development ay Oxford Airport, told the newspaper: “There has not been a direct air link between Oxford and Cambridge since the late 1930s. We were looking at the idea of running a scheduled service when Martin knocked on our door. He is a very dynamic young man.” Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd