Teen Starts Airline

Southampton, England – December 7, 2005 – Martin Halstead, 19, knew how difficult it would be to get a job in the airline industry. So he did the next best thing — he started his own airline. The regional carrier, called Alpha One, will fly twice a day between Southampton and the Isle of Man in the United Kingdom beginning Dec. 14. In January, he plans to add flights from the Isle of Man to Cardiff and Southampton. So far, the airline consists of one 18-seat BAE Jetstream 31, but plans call to lease another one. Flights will have no meal service, but offer complimentary champagne. Halstead is hoping business travelers will be willing to pay about $175 for the 90-minute flight since their only alternative is a much longer ferry and train ride. Halstead told the Associated Press that he has loved aviation since he took his first flight at 6. He was so enamored with flying that he quit college to earn his pilot’s license at 18. Halstead, who will work at Alpha One as a pilot and CEO, says he has hired more than 20 experienced staffers to make up for his age. In addition, Alpha One’s board of directors possess many years of business and airline experience, he says. But he is relying on his own financing skills. Halstead financed the majority of the airline’s start-up cost after selling off a flight-simulator software company he started at age 15. The British press has called him “Baby Branson.” And while he says he is honored by the comparison, Halstead told the Associated Press he intends “not to be the next Richard Branson, but the first Martin Halstead.” Who’s Richard Branson? Sir Richard Branson, who was knighted by the Queen of England in 1999 for his business prowess, is president and CEO of the Virgin Group, which started in 1970 as a mail order record retailer and which now includes a variety of businesses, including an airline. In addition, he is also an adventurer and has set several world records. He was also involved in the Global Flyer project in 2005.

Martin Halstead at Southampton Airport, southern England, poses for the launch of his new airline, Alpha One. Halstead, believed to be the world’s youngest airline entrepreneur at 19, said his company will travel routes that are too small for larger airlines. Tim Ockenden / AP Learn More Alpha One Meet Richard Branson Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer

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