- Highland Airways
Infobox Airline
airline = Highland Airways
logo_size =
fleet_size = 11
destinations = Benbecula
Inverness
Shetland Islands
Stornoway
Cardiff
Anglesey
IATA = 8H
ICAO = HWY
callsign = HIWAY
company_slogan =
founded = 1991
headquarters =Inverness Airport ,Scotland ,United Kingdom
key_people =
hubs =
secondary_hubs =
focus_cities =
frequent_flyer =
lounge =
alliance =
website = [http://www.highlandairways.co.uk www.highlandairways.co.uk]Highland Airways is a Scottish
airline based inInverness ,Scotland . It operates passenger and freight charters as well as scheduled services from its main base atInverness Airport . Other services include newspaper distribution to the northern and Western Isles,Royal Mail flights to the Western Isles and charter services for corporate clients.cite news | title= Directory: World Airlines | work=Flight International | page= 91 | date= 2007-04-03] Aircraft are also based atCardiff International Airport .The company holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, it is permitted to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats. [ [http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?categoryid=183&pagetype=90&pageid=340 Operating Licence] ]
History
The airline was established and started operations in 1991. It was originally founded as Air Alba, operating for four years as a flying school. It was renamed Highland Airways in February 1997. When the newspaper industry relocated their charter departure point for Scottish islands to Inverness in
1998 , Highland won the contract to provide two BAe Jetstream 31 aircraft per day for this task. One of these aircraft also carried business and leisure passengers on its "Island hopper" service as well as freight.Highland also expanded into contract work for the
oil industry based inAberdeen during 1998. Highland aircraft facilitated crew changes, business delegations, emergency freight or technician movements for the industry, meaning Highland Airways aircraft were regular visitors to the west coast of Ireland, theFaroe Islands and destinations inNorway includingStavanger and Bergen. The airline also began operating corporate charter services, most notably forBAE Systems , providing a daily service betweenGlasgow and the company'sFilton Aerodrome , as well as flights for financial companies, electronics, utilities,whisky and the public sector.General aviation and ground handling facilities were established at Inverness under the name Highland Aviation Services, initially developed to serve the airline's own handling needs, expanded to
Stornoway ,Benbecula ,Inverness andGlasgow , and now provides solutions to other operators.Highland Airways secured the
Royal Mail daytime delivery contract from Glasgow to theWestern Isles , sub-contracting aShorts 360 for the work. The aircraft, based at Glasgow, also operates ad hoc freight charters between Royal Mail work, mainly at night and on Sundays.Experience with Jetstream,
Cessna and ATR aircraft allow the airline to carry out engineering work for third party operators at its engineering facility, and has recently managed anATR 42 in operation forAir Lithuania .Highland has also won a 5 year contract to operate, crew and maintain two Cessna F406 reconnaissance aircraft on behalf of the
Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency . These aircraft are based in Inverness and wear SFPA markings.In March 2007 Highland Airways underwent a management buyout from Atlantic Holdings led by A Mossman and has 100 employees (at Jan
2008 ).Highland Airways now operate an intra-Wales flight connecting the north (
Anglesey Airport ) to the south (Cardiff Airport ). Highland operate a BN2 Islander aircraft from Oban to Coll Colansay and Tiree under a contract with Argyll and Bute CouncilDestinations
Highland Airways operates services to the following domestic scheduled destinations (at February
2007 ): Fact|date=June 2007*
Scotland
**Benbecula
**Inverness (Inverness Airport )
**Shetland Islands
**Stornoway (Stornoway Airport )
*Wales
**Anglesey (RAF Valley )
**Cardiff Note: Service between Benbecula and Stornoway is under contract fromComhairle nan Eilean Siar .Fleet
The Highland Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft (at October 2008 [ [http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=60&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=summary&owner=highland%20airways UK Civil Aviation Authority Aircraft Register] ] ) :
External links
* [http://www.highlandairways.co.uk/ Highland Airways]
* [http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?airlinesearch=Highland%20Airways&distinct_entry=true Photos of Highland Airways aircraft]References
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