The planes were painted in the airline's colours in Eindhoven

Air Southwest will fly between Newquay, Plymouth and Gatwick after British Airways (BA) announced it was pulling out of the route earlier this year.

BA's decision to end services from Cornwall and Plymouth angered businesses in the region who rely on swift transport to London.

We hope passengers will see us as a breath of fresh air Malcolm Naylor, Air Southwest

After months of negotiations Sutton Harbour Holdings, which runs Plymouth Airport, revealed it was setting up the new airline.

It has promised low-cost fares with flights starting from �20 for a one-way trip.

There will be four flights a day and Air Southwest has promised expansion in the future with the possibility of flights from Plymouth to Bristol and Manchester.

The airlines Dash 8-300 aircraft can carry up to 50 passengers.

Since opening its website and booking line for business on 1 September, Air Southwest has sold 13,000 seats, the equivalent of one every six minutes.

"To have a load factor of almost 75% on our first flight, at the crack of dawn on a Sunday morning in autumn is, we believe, an excellent indication of the demand we are seeing for our services," said Malcolm Naylor, Air Southwest's managing director.

Fixture list

"We hope passengers will see us as a breath of fresh air."

The first passenger to book his seat with Air Southwest was 38-year-old company director Andy Byford.

Mr Byford, who lives and works in London, was brought up near Plymouth and is a passionate Plymouth Argyle fan.

As a season ticket holder, he attends most of Argyle's home games and has already booked three Air Southwest flights to coincide with the fixture list, with more to follow.