Born on 1st November 1982, Manx Airlines immediately soared high to capture the airways of England as well as Europe. Manx airlines flew its first ever flight from Banderantie to Glasgow. Manx made a humble start with 3 main types of aircrafts: Vickers Viscount, Fokker Friendship and Embraer EMB 110. Manx was in control of a meagre 4 aircrafts consisting of 1 Vickers Viscount, 2 Fokker Friendship and 1 Embraer EMB 110. Within a mere three years of its coming into existence, in 1985, Manx started using the Short 330 and 360 for its air trips. Short 360 is a type of aircraft that has the capacity to house 36 seats or 36 passengers. It guaranteed high cruise speed and performance making Manx one of the fastest airlines in Europe. They could also be used as freight carrying aircrafts with a capacity to transport five LD3 cargo containers. Similarly, Short 330 had the capacity to hold 33 passengers.
Among the many feathers in its hat the two major ones were Manx's acquiring Business Air in 1991and its becoming part of the BRAL Group in 1998. Vickers Viscount could not keep pace with the demand for speed and performance and hence Manx replaced it with the BAe ATP in the October of 1988. Later it came to own 17 BAe ATP. Eventually Manx came to possess an enviable fleet of aircrafts including the BAC 1-11, BAe ATP, Jetstream 31, Jetstream 41, BAe 146 /100, /200 and /300, Britten-Norman Islander de Havilland, Canada DHC-6, Twin Otter, Embraer EMB 110, Embraer ERJ 145, Fokker Friendship, Gulfstream Commander 1000, Piper PA-23, Piper PA-31, Saab 340, Shorts 330, Shorts36, ATR-72 and last but not the least the Vickers Viscount.
Manx expanded rapidly within a few years of its existence. It soon came to be known for it's excellent crew service and efficiency. However, Manx could not keep up with the ever expanding aviation industry and its existence came to an end abruptly in 2002, when BRAL was taken over by the British Airways at a price of £72 million. Manx's last flight was scheduled to fly from Gatwick, London to Isle of Man, Ronaldsway. A sub-chartered plane was used to complete the trip as the aircraft which was supposed to do the trip faced a technical breakdown.
|
