Ticket sales open on December 1 for twice-daily
scheduled flights to Paris from Shoreham with a brand new airline, Brighton
City Airways, prompting the airport to rename to Brighton (Shoreham) Airport
First flights will depart on March 6, flying to
Paris Pontoise, which is close to central Paris, allowing passengers to reach the
city centre within two hours of parking at Shoreham and costing from £69 one
way, including taxes and charges.
“This is the perfect Christmas present for someone
who wants a new and special experience – flying one-hour to Paris in the spring!”
said Neil Laughton, one of the two Sussex-based aviation experts, who have founded
the airline.
“This has long-term benefits for the local
community too as there are many businesses in Sussex who can use this service
on a regular basis and holiday makers or Paris day trippers can also make the
most of travelling to and from Shoreham’s charming airport, where parking is
easy and check in to take off takes just minutes.”
Some of the special features of the airline
include 15 minute check-in, no hidden fees, VIP lounge and service, easy local
parking and the flight, which is in a 19-seat Let 410 commuter aircraft, takes
one hour to reach Paris. Pontoise Airport is also conveniently close to La Defense
Business District of Paris, which is just 22 miles away.
The airline was welcomed by Tim Loughton, MP for
East Worthing & Shoreham, who said:
“I am delighted to see cross channel flights returning to Shoreham
again. Shoreham Airport has a lot to offer as a base for short hop trips to the
Continent with a large market of travellers on its doorstep who otherwise have
to spend more time travelling to and through the London airports than in the
air. I wish the new operators well and hope this is the start of big things to
come.”
And airport manager Ric Belfield said: “This is
absolutely what we want to see at the airport, scheduled international travel
bringing lots of people through our historic airport, which was the first
licensed airfield in Britain. This has prompted us to rename the airport Brighton
(Shoreham) Airport, to link it properly to our neighbouring city.”
Brighton City Airways was conceived by Jonathan
Candelon, MD of leading career pilot school Flying Time Aviation, at Shoreham
Airport, and Neil Laughton, entrepreneur, pilot and adventurer, famous for
leading Bear Grylls to the summit of Mt Everest and managing his Mission
Everest world record motorised parachute flight in 2007.
Jonathan and Neil met when Neil approached Flying
Time Aviation four years ago, asking for lessons to help him fly the world’s
first road legal flying car’. They became friends, agreeing that a partnership
to introduce a desirable European route from the south coast would make good
business and benefit Sussex.
Neil Laughton, who lives in Small Dole, a few miles
from Shoreham, is the Founder and CEO of the Business Leadership Academy in
London, an organisation dedicated to improving the leadership and management skills
of business executives. He also leads New Horizons, a youth development project
for disadvantaged young people in the UK and is a Non-Executive Director and
Business Angel Investor.
He started his career as a Royal Marine commando, then
completed a post-graduate business diploma before founding the design, build
and furniture company OPL Group, which he sold to Balfour Beatty Plc when
turnover reached £40m in 2009.
In
his spare time he has undertaken many challenging expeditions and has completed
the Explorers Grand Slam - climbing the highest mountain on each continent and
skiing to North and South Poles. In January this year, he led a team of
business executives to the South Pole to commemorate Captain Scott’s
achievements exactly 100 years earlier and organised the first game of cricket
on arrival in minus 35 degrees centigrade.
Jonathan Candelon, who also lives in Sussex, is a
seasoned career pilot, who grew up in Venezuela and Haywards Heath. He has built
up Flying Time Aviation to become one of the top career pilot schools in the
country.
He now runs a team of quality pilot trainers, with
a large fleet of training aircraft and flight simulators at Shoreham (Brighton
City) Airport, as well as training students himself, helping to qualify dozens
of new career pilots every year.
