A new airline is set to start in the Channel Islands that aims to be the Uber of the skies after getting its Air Operators’ Certificate by Guernsey’s air registry, 2-Reg.
The certification ensures the company, called 'Waves' can start carrying passengers on its on-demand air taxi service. "I am incredibly proud of the whole team in achieving our AOC. This has been the culmination of six months of hard work and is the first major milestone in enabling us to deliver a new style of travel to the Channel Islands" said Waves chief operations officer Matt Bisson.
"We are thrilled to be the first Channel Islands-based airline able to fly 2-Reg aircraft commercially. The team at 2-Reg has really put us through our paces, holding us accountable to the highest international standards but with an approachable and accessible team of locally based experts."
Waves will now begin flying freight services before entering 'soft' launch of its passenger operations. "We’re in final testing of our booking system and our security app as well as ensuring that our pilots are fully trained. We’ll be testing the entire customer experience from booking, check-in, boarding and disembarkation using family and friends to ensure that it meets our exacting standards," said chief executive officer Nick Magliocchetti, one of the founders of tech fund Whitespace.
The company claims it is moving rapidly forward with its new app that will allow customers to book and request a flight. "Months of hard work have come together over the last few weeks and it’s been fantastic that we have been able to continually update Islanders on our progress. We’ve seen the appointment of our first pilot, the launch of the Waves training academy, the arrival of our training and missions aircraft and the announcement about our industry-leading security process," said Mr Magliocchetti. Emy De La Mare, head of PR and marketing for Waves, added that the team had been out in the community talking with the public.
‘Being part of island life is something we are very passionate about and it’s been great to speak to islanders, hear their feedback and answer any questions they have. It’s been really encouraging to have such positive comments and it remains very clear that there is a real need for an alternative inter-island air travel provider,’ she said.
Waves estimate they should be flying first between Gurnsey and Jersey and then Guernsey and Alderney with passengers from December at the latest.
❗This article was written for this site by a member of our team 🙋, please do share it with your friends via social media. You are also welcome to post it or republish elsewhere on the 🌎web on the condition that you credit the author and link back to our site. Thank you.
♻ We care about the environment, please think twice before you hit ‘print’
