BRYMON Airways is expected to add up to three new mainland European routes to its network over the next year.
General manager commercial, Mike Coombes, said commercial reasons stopped him from revealing what these are, but likely destinations include German, Italian and Scandinavian cities, if airport slots are found.
Paris is currently Brymon’s only mainland European destination.
A new terminal at Bristol is expected to help Brymon expand at its hub. “We are working with Bristol to assess new international routes and also build up frequencies,” said Coombes.
The expansion plans follow the airline recording a pre-tax profit of ú4.75m. The carrier has turned in a consistent profit since it became a wholly owned subsidiary of British Airwaysin 1993.
“The BA brand has helped to turn us around as we can talk to passengers on a BA level,” said Coombes.
“However, it is important to be known regionally, and corporately, as Brymon. Our focus will continue to be on regional services to regional airports or cities.”
Coombes said over the last year the airline has taken on 200 additional staff to give Brymon a 550-strong workforce. Which has enabled them to add to bases in Plymouth, Manchester, Newcastle, Newquay and Aberdeen, in addition to Bristol.
Meanwhile, the airline has raised its UK and international profile this winter by taking Aberdeen services over from BA Regional and operating joint Manchester-Scotland flights with BA Regional.
Coombes said the controversial decision to move Heathrow flights to Gatwick in 1997 had paid off with increased passenger numbers on Plymouth and Newquay services to London, where half the airline’s customers connect onto BA flights.
In the 1998/99 financial year, Brymon will look to handle 850,000 passengers on its mainly UK regional network which links the Southwest to London, northern England and Scotland. Next year the BAcarrier will handle around 1m.