Article from BTNews 26 JUNE 2017
Firnas targets short-haul market
UK start-up airline Firnas Airways has revised its launch plans and says it will now begin operations during the second half of the year as a short-haul operator serving UK domestic and European routes.
A Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued earlier this year for the dry-lease of two twin turboprop aircraft, with preference given to Saab 340As and Do328-100s.
A revised investor's prospectus indicates Firnas Airways will focus on routes that are currently unserved or underserved by existing UK and European regional carriers.
The carrier said in a statement: "This is mainly to ensure we are not in the way of other major operators such as Ryanair or easyJet and also to ensure we maximise our commercial potentials.”
The statement said this would be done “with routes that have a track record of performing with very high load factors and maximum yields”.
Once operations have settled, Firnas says it plans to branch into the medium-haul market some 18-24 months after launching, focusing on serving routes not yet named in Africa, Eurasia and the Middle East.
The company is launching a crowdfunding initiative to raise $1.29m and talks have also taken place with potential investors.
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Alan Bowen, United Kingdom
Best of luck but the plans seem to be changing by the day. From flights to Bangladesh to unserved domestic routes that even Flybe can't find a market for, seems to be a major gear change. A company with £100 share capital and almost struck off the Companies Register last month is something of a risk. As the 'dragons' might say 'I'm out!'