Emerald Airways - Sadly No More
Formed as Janes Aviation by Andrew and Hilary Janes back in 1987, the airline originally operated from Blackpool, using Britten-Norman Islander, Trislander, Douglas DC-3s, Shorts SD.3-30, and Handley Page Herald aircraft, prior to acquiring their first Hawker Siddely HS.748 in 1992. The operation was moved to Liverpool and Janes Aviation became Emerald Airways in 1992. Since then, the company went from strength to strength. More aircraft were added and Emerald boasted the largest commercial fleet of HS.748s in the World.
The airline entered a new era in November 2001, with the purchase of their first Short SD.3-60 (G-OBHD), with other examples following on. The acquisition of Streamline Aviation in August 2002 swelled the fleet considerably and made it the largest regional operator of dedicated cargo aircraft in Europe. Emerald Airways aircraft could be seen in such places as Hamburg, Paris, Pisa, Marseille, Naples, Nice and Rome as operations continued to spread far wider than just the UK.
In May 2003 Emerald recommenced scheduled passenger service between Liverpool and the Isle of Man using two of their newly acquired BAe ATP aircraft. Three other ATPs are for freight use. With this new beginning came a new livery, as can be seen on some of the accompanying photographs. The company witdrew its passenger operations to the Isle of Man in June 2005, but their ATPs continued to operate on the route on behalf of EuroManx up to the start of May 2006.
Sadly, the airline went into Administration on the 11th May 2006 and the future of the fleet is uncertain at the moment.
Below is a list of the Emerald Airways fleet and where the aircraft were when the company folded. Other details include aircraft registration and constructors number, followed by its colour scheme and configuration. The final column has a photograph of the aircraft if available. If it is, please click on the "thumbnail" to see the full-size photograph.
HAWKER SIDDELEY HS.748s
| Registration | Constructor's No. | Colour Scheme | Location & Notes | Photograph |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G-ATMJ | 1593 | Emerald Airways (old) | Blackpool |  |
| G-AYIM | 1687 | Emerald Airways (old) | Coventry |  |
| G-BEJD | 1543 | Reed Aviation (old) | "Sisyphus" wfu Blackpool 13/03/05 |  |
| G-BGMN | 1766 | overall white | Liverpool |  |
| G-BGMO | 1767 | Emerald Airways (new) | Blackpool |  |
| G-BIUV | 1701 | Emerald Airways (old) | WFU Blackpool 09/10/05 |  |
| G-BVOU | 1721 | Lynx Parcel Services | Blackpool |  |
| G-BVOV | 1777 | Emerald Airways (old) | Blackpool |  |
| G-OPFW | 1714 | Parcel Force Worldwide | Blackpool |  |
| G-ORAL | 1756 | Reed Aviation (new) | "The Paper Plane" Blackpool |  |
| G-ORCP | 1647 | Overall white | Coventry |  |
| G-OSOE | 1697 | Securicor Omega Express | Blackpool |  |
| G-OTBA | 1712 | basic Royal Tongan livery | WFU Blackpool |  |
| G-SOEI | 1689 | basic Mount Cook livery | Blackpool |  |
SHORT SD.3-30s and SD.3-60s
| Registration | Constructor's No. | Colour Scheme | Location & Notes | Photograph |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G-BMLC | SH.3688 | Red & Grey stripes | WFU Coventry 04/02/05 |  |
| G-JEMX | SH.3715 | Emerald Airways (new) | Blackpool |  |
| G-OBHD | SH.3714 | All White | Blackpool |  |
| G-ROND | SH.3604 | White, blue stripes | Blackpool |  |
| G-SSWA | SH.3402 | Red Tail, Blue & Red stripes | WFU Blackpool - sold 12/05 |  |
| G-SSWB | SH.3690 | Blue & Yellow stripe | Coventry |  |
| G-SSWC | SH.3686 | Grey & Red stripes | Southend |  |
| G-SSWE | SH.3705 | Blue cheatline, Yellow stripe, Grey undersides | WFU Coventry 06/04/05 |  |
| G-SSWM | SH.3648 | Blue stripes | WFU Coventry |  |
| G-SSWO | SH.3609 | Blue & Yellow stripe | WFU Blackpool 05/09/04 |  |
| G-SSWR | SH.3670 | Blue stripes | WFU Coventry |  |
British Aerospace ATPs
| Registration | Constructor's No. | Colour Scheme | Location & Notes | Photograph |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G-JEMA | 2028 | Emerald Airways (new) | Liverpool (Passenger Configuration) |  |
| G-JEMB | 2029 | Emerald Airways (new) | Blackpool (Freighter Conversion) |  |
| G-JEMC | 2032 | Emerald Airways (new) | Isle of Man (Passenger Configuration) |  |
| G-JEMD | 2026 | to be Emerald Airways (new) | Blackpool (Freighter Configuration). Never entered service | No photo yet |
| G-JEME | 2027 | to be Emerald Airways (new) | Bucharest - awaiting shipping to the UK (Freighter Configuration) | No photo yet |