Martin Halstead

Martin Halstead
Martin Halstead in 2009, flying a Blue Islands Jetstream 31 from Guernsey to the Isle of Man
Born	18 May 1986 (1986-05-18) (age 25) Oxford, England

Martin Richard Alexander Halstead, born 18 May 1986^{[citation needed]} in Oxford, England, is a company director and pilot who has founded two short-lived aviation businesses.

Biography

Halstead, the son of Michael and Susan Halstead, was born and educated in the Oxford area, and still lives in the city. Halstead's parents separated when he was young. His mother, an expert on the Slavic literature of central Europe, still lives in Oxford while his father, a playwright and theatre director now lives near Dresden in Germany.^[1]

Halstead's secondary education was at Abingdon School and D'Overbroeck's College. He left school at the age of 16, without having completed his GCE Advanced Level examinations. After a spell at Oxford Aviation Training, since early 2008 rebranded as Oxford Aviation Academy, Halstead decided that rather than complete his studies for a Commercial Pilot Licence, he would prefer to set up his own airline and focus on managing an aviation business.

Alpha One Airways

Halstead first attracted media attention in the UK in March 2005 when, at the age of 18, he announced the launch of Alpha One Airways.^[2] Alpha One Airways did not hold, and never applied for, an Air Operator's Certificate. Instead Halstead planned to subcontract the actual operation of flights to another carrier.

Alpha One Airways was due to launch its commercial services on the route linking Oxford and Cambridge with flights starting on 18 April 2005.^[3] Alpha One never operated any services on the route, although from 1 February 2006 another small airline, Sky Commuter, for a few weeks had scheduled flights linking the two university cities.^[4]

At the September 2005 B2B Routes Conference, held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Halstead spoke confidently of his plans for AlphaOne Airways, remarking that "the reception here at Routes has been very positive. The airports we're seeing are taking us very seriously and want to see us succeed" and "We have more than enough money to operate without a single passenger for six months".^[5]

Returning from the Copenhagen Routes Conference, Halstead then made announcements of new routes for AlphaOne Airways, including a route from Cambridge to Bristol^[6] and from Jersey to the Isle of Man. Flights from Cambridge never started, nor did flights from Jersey, but Halstead then unveiled a new plan for AlphaOne Airways, this time working from a base at Southampton Airport and commencing operations on 7 November 2005 with flights to the Isle of Man.^[7]

During this time, press reports appeared largely uncritical, focusing on Mr Halstead’s age, his plans, or his personality.^[1][2][8] A more sceptical note was sounded by Cambridge University student newspaper, Varsity.^[6] In October 2005, it reported Halstead's claims that he had twenty employees (the company having evidently downsized from the alleged 31 employees of six months earlier^[1]), who between them had accumulated "300 years worth of aviation background" and that he was due to take delivery of a fleet of jets. Yet the overall editorial line of the piece was critical. The article quoted Malcolm Gault, Operations Manager at Cambridge City Airport who described Halstead as Walter Mitty mark II. Gault is reported as saying "Believe nothing that [Halstead] tells you. He seems to have a big ego trip, gets a lot of people interested in his plans and then does nothing about it."^[6]

After Alpha One Airways

At the time that he was endeavouring to set up AlphaOne Airways, Halstead acquired a reputation for wanting to live above his means, a situation about which he spoke candidly in a Channel 4 documentary broadcast in September 2005 when he told of his "fantasy James Bond lifestyle".^[9]

In an interview with The Oxford Times in October 2006, Halstead reflected on the AlphaOne experience, admitting that he "had almost lost a sense of normality for a while." The newspaper reported that Halstead was working again, this time at a music shop in Oxford city centre.^[10] Halstead became a director of the company which owned the shop. The company, called Delicious Music Republic, ceased trading shortly thereafter.^[11]

Varsity Express

In January 2010 Halstead set up a new aviation venture called Varsity Express.^[12] Halstead stated that Varsity Express had sufficient funds to operate for 6 months without carrying a single passenger.^[13] Ten days prior to Varsity's first flight, Halstead also claimed to the media that his nascent airline already employed about 20 people.^[11]

The new company started services between Oxford and Edinburgh on 1 March 2010 and suspended operations one week later, after Halstead failed to pay fees due in respect of the small aircraft he had leased to operate the service.^[14] Thirteen passengers were left stranded because the second leg of their return tickets was not honoured.^[15]

A number of allegations of dishonesty surrounding Varsity Express were reported in The Times newspaper on 14 March 2010.^[16] The article reported allegations that Martin Halstead used a fictitious name to pose variously as both the commercial director and the financial backer of the airline: launched the business with a partner who was disqualified from acting as a company director; boasted of fictitious investors; and obtained finance for the business by asking four newly-qualified pilot recruits to pay up to £15,000 each for specialised 'type training', which was never provided.

Mr Halstead stated that he lost £3,500 of his own money in the venture.^[12][17] An investigation by the Thames Valley Police found that no criminal offence had taken place.^[18][19]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Wark, Penny (March 23, 2005). "Meet the teenage high-flyer". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/article434378.ece. Retrieved March 19, 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Teenager launches his own airline". BBC News. March 22, 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/oxfordshire/4371945.stm. Retrieved March 12, 2010. 
3. ^ "Young entrepreneur makes aviation history by launching pioneering air service". Oxford Airport Press Notice. March 21, 2005. http://www.oxfordairport.co.uk/airport_news/news_2005/alpha1airways.htm. Retrieved November 19, 2010. 
4. ^ "Another Oxbridge first". Daily Telegraph (London). February 1, 2006. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2955076/Another-Oxbridge-first.html. Retrieved March 14, 2010. 
5. ^ "A 19-year-old's airline dream". Airline Business. September 2005. http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/airline-business/2005/09/. Retrieved March 14, 2010. 
6. ^ ^{a b c} "Oxbridge, we have a problem". Varsity (Cambridge). October 14, 2005. http://archive.varsity.co.uk/623.pdf. Retrieved March 15, 2010. 
7. ^ "Teenager launches airline". BBC News. October 24, 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/4370912.stm. Retrieved February 4, 2010. 
8. ^ Iggulden, Amy (November 15, 2005). "I'm baby Branson and this is mini Virgin". Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3647995/Im-baby-Branson-and-this-is-mini-Virgin.html. Retrieved March 21, 2010. 
9. ^ "Live Now, Pay Later". Channel 4. September 2005. http://www.channel4learning.com/support/programmenotes/micro/moneyandbusiness/live.html. Retrieved March 12, 2010. 
10. ^ "Alpha man has landed". The Oxford Times. October 19, 2006. http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/business/thismonth/977400.alpha_man_has_landed. Retrieved March 12, 2010. 
11. ^ ^{a b} "'Baby Branson' back in business". The Oxford Times. February 18, 2010. http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/business/thismonth/5012094._Baby_Branson__back_in_business/. Retrieved March 17, 2010. 
12. ^ ^{a b} "Police to probe Varsity airline". Oxford Mail. March 16, 2010. http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/5062889.Police_to_probe_Varsity_airline/. Retrieved March 16, 2010. 
13. ^ "What's the truth about travel? Don't ask me". The Independent (London). March 20, 2010. http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/simon-calder-whats-the-truth-about-travel-dont-ask-me-1923792.html. Retrieved March 22, 2010. 
14. ^ "Airline launched by Baby Branson grounded one week after take-off". The Scotsman. March 11, 2010. http://news.scotsman.com/uk/Airline-launched-by-baby-Branson.6141044.jp. Retrieved March 11, 2010. 
15. ^ "Edinburgh flights grounded a week after launch". Oxford Mail. March 9, 2010. http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/archive/2010/03/09/News+(Cakenews)/5050208.Edinburgh_flights_grounded_a_week_after_launch/. Retrieved March 19, 2010. 
16. ^ Foggo, Daniel; Foley, Martin (March 14, 2010). "Varsity Express: Baby Branson’s bogus business". The Times (London). http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/entrepreneur/article7061160.ece. Retrieved March 13, 2010. 
17. ^ "Grounded pilot wants £15,000 back from Varsity Express". Oxford Mail. March 17, 2010. http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/yourtown/oxford/5064839.Grounded_pilot_wants___15_000_back_from_Varsity_Express/. Retrieved March 19, 2010. 
18. ^ "Police ground failed airline inquiry". Oxford Mail. August 31, 2010. http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/yourtown/oxford/8361236.Police_ground_failed_airline_inquiry/?ref=rss. Retrieved October 29, 2010. 
19. ^ "Probe into Varsity Express at Oxford Airport dropped". BBC. August 31, 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-11139527. Retrieved October 29, 2010. 

See also

• Varsity Express

Persondata
Name	Halstead, Martin
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	May 18, 1986
Place of birth	Oxford, England
Date of death
Place of death