An airline entrepreneur dubbed “Baby Branson” who launched a low-cost carrier as a teenager is back in business , following the collapse of his first venture.
Martin Halstead , still at the tender age of 23, is launching Varsity Express next month, which will offer flights between Oxford and Edinburgh.
The airline aims to offer excellent customer service fast, and affordable prices .
An across the board price of £49 single will apply on all flights up untill 12 March.Passengers will be carried on an 18 seat Jetstream. Flights are only on weekdays, and he is looking to add another route in the near future.
Halstead shot to as a 19-year-old when he started Alpha One Airways, a low-cost carrier offering flights between Oxford and Cambridge. However the business folded just six weeks after launch.
He has since held a number of positions within the aviation industry, including working as a flight attendant on Branson’s Virgin Atlantic. He also secured an air transport licence at the Oxford Air Training School at the age of 18.
He would not disclose the identity of Varsity’s backers but they are understood to be a group of British businessmen with property interests in the Canary Islands, according to The Times. The deal could eventually give him a half-share in the company.