Should Jersey and Guernsey join up on airlinks?

The governments of Jersey and Guernsey should consider working together when commissioning airlines in future, an expert has told the BBC.

Peter Murphy, a professor emeritus of public policy and management at Nottingham Trent University, said such collaboration would give the islands more influence over "the nature of the contract" and more resources to monitor any agreement.

He said it was not for him to tell the islands how to govern themselves, but that it was "one alternative they ought to be looking at".

The BBC has approached authorities in Guernsey and Jersey for comment.

Prof Murphy's comments followed questions from Jersey politicians about the viability of regional airlines and their relationship with the island's government.

They also follow airline Blue Islands entering liquidation earlier this month.

Prof Murphy said a partnership between the public and private sectors would probably be necessary for any Blue Islands successor, and added that such a set-up would be attractive because of the "disproportionate amount of money it would take an island government to run its own service".

He said: "It's very unlikely that they [an airline] could make a long-term commercial success of flying just to the islands.

"It wouldn't be possible for them to make a profit out of it. Government would have to subsidise it."

But he also accepted that the relationship between public and private partners could be complex.

"You've got the problem of the power relationship between the company and the public entity that is commissioning the service," he said.

Yet, according to Prof Murphy, any future arrangement involving the public and private sectors could be strengthened if the islands were to work more closely together.

"If you can get Guernsey and Jersey to work as one, then there are some benefits in terms of the amount of influence they have - in terms of economies of scale they will benefit from."

He said that any agreement established would need to be fair to both sides if it was to be successful, and constant monitoring would be essential.

Christopher Bee, the managing director of freight firm OceanAir Handling, expressed concerns at the prospect of multiple airlines running the same routes.

He pointed to the failures of Eastern Airways, Stobart Air and FlyBe as examples of just how difficult it could be for operators to make money.

He said: "The cost of operation is massive... unless you've got 80-90% passenger fill. You really aren't going to make any money... that's just an economic fact."

Mr Bee also warned both islands against "replicating costs".

He said: "I would like to see a well-supported, reasonably-priced airline, providing a reliable service.

"In my mind, an economic monopoly that succeeds is a preference over two or three airlines that struggle."

By contrast, tourism boss Alan Sillett said earlier this month that Guernsey should "not be left vulnerable" with only one airline operating following the collapse of Blue Islands.

"We can't have a model where one airline is trying to do everything," he said, although he added that the inter-island route could be shared "if it is co-ordinated properly".

Both Loganair and Aurigny said that they would apply for a licence to run services between Guernsey and Jersey from January.

Deputy Montfort Tadier, the chair of Jersey's Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel, has called for greater clarity on how money was handed over during the final months of Blue Islands' operations.

Speaking about recent loans given to the company, he said: "It should have been quite apparent at some point this was a sticking plaster and there was a bigger underlying issue.

"So, it's a case of, at that point, should they have known that this was throwing good money after bad?"

Treasury Minister Elaine Millar said the government had deferred loan re-payments to support Blue Islands as it went through a "sale process", and that funding approved for Loganair had "secured the future of the island's regional connectivity".

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