Blink (airline)
{{Short description|Defunct British private jet airline (2007-2008)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox airline
| airline = Blink
| image =
| IATA =
| ICAO = BKK
| callsign = BLINKAIR
| aoc =
| hubs = {{Unbulleted list|
|{{nowrap|Geneva}}
|{{nowrap|Guernsey}}
|{{nowrap|Jersey}}
|{{nowrap|London–Blackbushe}}
|{{nowrap|Paris–Le Bourget}}
}}
| focus_cities = Western Europe
| frequent_flyer =
| alliance =
| fleet_size = 15
| destinations = 600+
| parent =
| num_employees =
| logo =
| logo_size = 150px
| founded = {{start date and age|2007|07|df=y}}
| ceased = {{end date and age|2018|07|df=y}}
| headquarters = Blackbushe Airport, Surrey, England
| key_people = {{unbulleted list
|Patrick Hersent (CEO)
|{{nowrap|John Jackson (Director of Flight Operations)}}
|Martin Lewis (Chief Training Captain)
|Patrick Marchant (Head of Engineering)
|Cameron Ogden (co-founder)
|Peter Leiman (co-founder)
}}
| secondary_hubs = {{Unbulleted list|
|{{nowrap|Nice}}
|{{nowrap|Zürich}}
}}
| lounge =
| subsidiaries =
| website = {{URL|www.flyblink.com}}
}}
Blink was a British commercial aviation operation which provides private jet travel using Cessna Citation Mustang very light jets. The company began operations in London in May 2008. Its French parent company, Wijet, placed it in administration in July 2018.
History
Blink Limited was founded by Peter Leiman and Cameron Ogden, who met at Harvard Business School. Ogden is the son of Sir Peter Ogden, the founder of Computacenter. Leiman is a former investment banker. Four former British Airways executives are involved in operations."Blink and JetBird Aim to Slash Cost of Private Jet Travel in Europe", Financial Times, [http://www.flyblink.com/documents/FinancialTimes-6October2008.pdf http://www.flyblink.com/documents/FinancialTimes-6October2008.pdf]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
In May 2015 Blink announced the acquisition of MyJet, a Genoa-based operator, with three Cessna Citation Mustang aircraft.[http://corporatejetinvestor.com/articles/blink-buys-myjet-and-blackbushe-airport-987/ "Blink buys MyJet and Blackbushe Airport", Corporate Jet Investor] This increased Blink's fleet size to nine aircraft. The acquisition also included a maintenance facility at Genoa Airport.
In October 2016, it was announced that the French Mustang operator, Wijet had acquired Blink. This increased the combined fleet to 16.
"Wijet's Blink buy creates largest VLJ air taxi company", Flight Global, [https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/wijets-blink-buy-creates-largest-vlj-air-taxi-compa-429833/] In July 2018, the company went into administration.{{cite web |last1=Davies |first1=Alud |title=Wijet files for administration of UK subsidiary Blink |url=https://corporatejetinvestor.com/articles/wijet-files-for-administration-587/ |website=Corporate Jet Investor |accessdate=26 March 2019}}
Fleet and services
The company used a fleet of thirteen Cessna Citation Mustang aircraft to provide on-demand private jet travel. Its fleet of cheaper and lighter aircraft allowed the company to provide services at a lower cost versus traditional private jet operators."Blink Wings It", Forbes.com, [http://www.flyblink.com/documents/Forbes.com-3June2008.pdf http://www.flyblink.com/documents/Forbes.com-3June2008.pdf] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203114047/http://www.flyblink.com/documents/Forbes.com-3June2008.pdf |date=3 December 2008 }} The jets seat four passengers and travel to destinations in Western Europe.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.flyblink.com/ Blink] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624194533/http://flyblink.com/ |date=24 June 2008 }}, official website
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080509173344/http://www.atxa.com/ Air Taxi Association (ATXA)], official website
{{Authority control}}
Category:Defunct airlines of the United Kingdom