Noel Hayes featured in an article early last year on people starting out in business and the paper recently returned to him to find out if things had taken off.
Rockhopper – which changed its name from Le Cocq’s Airlink in August – saw 100 per cent growth in passenger numbers to 20,000 in 2003.
nder the headline ‘Airline rises to new heights’, Mr Hayes tells the Telegraph: ‘Travel between and off the islands has been reduced and people are taking fewer holidays.
The trick is to persuade them to holiday in the Channel Islands so we’ve concentrated on advertising.
Mr Hayes, who has consistently called for lower landing fees and less regulation in the Channel Islands, also calls on UK Chancellor Gordon Brown to lessen the tax burden, particularly on smaller airlines.
He describes air travel in the islands as a ‘necessity, not a leisure activity’.
