The Channel Islands are an archipelago located, as their name suggests, in the English Channel, just off the coast of France. Their makeup means that air travel plays a key role in keeping them connected, with Guernsey's Aurigny being a key carrier in this regard. Meanwhile, Jersey is home to another: Blue Islands.

Different names in its early years

The history of Blue Islands stretches back just over two decades to 1999, with its name and operations being rather different to the carrier's current setup. It commenced operations informally that year as Le Coq's Airlink, with the formal establishment of the airline taking place just after the turn of the century, in 2001.

At this stage, Le Coq's Airlink wasn't a passenger-carrying operation, but, rather, it ferried perishable cargo from Bournemouth Airport (BOH) in southern England to the island of Alderney (ACI). These services initially used Britten-Norman Islanders, but began using the larger three-engine 'Trislander' model when passenger flights were introduced on the route on a scheduled basis in 2002.

A year later, by which time it was carrying 20,000 passengers a year, the airline took on another new name: Rockhopper. The airline experienced considerable growth under the Rockhopper brand, following Healthspan Leisure's acquisition of the carrier in 2004. Shortly afterward, it began taking on BAe Jetstream aircraft.

Stay informed: Sign up for our daily and weekly aviation news digests.

Becoming Blue Islands

After relocating its headquarters from Alderney to Jersey, Rockhopper became known as Blue Islands in February 2006. As well as beginning to fly Jetstream aircraft, as alluded to earlier, it was also at around this time that the airline opened a route to the Isle of Man. All in all, 2006 saw Blue Islands carry 65,000 passengers.

The growth of Blue Islands' fleet allowed it to increase frequencies on the Channel Island shuttle between Guernsey and Jersey. These flights would operate as often as every hour, helping the carrier to gain a considerable market share on the route. This peaked at almost 70% in 2009, before dropping below 50% after Guernsey-based rival Aurigny began to regain ground on the corridor.

Away from the Channel Islands, the carrier had begun operating international routes to Geneva, Paris (Beauvais), and Zürich. Having previously leased a Dornier 328 to supplement its operations, Blue Islands rounded out the 2000s by receiving its first ATR 42, marking the beginning of an enduring relationship.

The airline industry is always full of new developments! What aviation news will you check out next?

Recent history

The arrival of Blue Islands' first ATR 42 in 2009 represented the start of a five-year transition to an all-ATR fleet. A key part of this was the arrival of its first ATR 72 in 2013, offering more capacity on a new route from Guernsey to Southampton. It had already been serving Southampton from Jersey since the mid-2000s.

Blue Islands achieved its goal of an all-ATR fleet in 2014, and has since boosted capacity by replacing several ATR 42s with the larger ATR 72 model. The carrier operated under a franchise deal with Flybe from 2016 until its 2020 collapse, after which it was able to fill the gap left by the purple-clad airline on certain routes.

Today, data from ch-aviation.com shows that Blue Islands' fleet consists of a 32.4-year-old ATR 42-300, alongside four ATR 72-500s with an average age of 16.7 years. The airline presently serves 14 destinations, with a seasonal service to the Spanish island of Ibiza also set to commence later on this summer.

What do you make of Blue Islands' history? Have you ever flown with the Jersey-based regional carrier? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!