Harpenden Air

13/01/2021

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Hugo Pickford-Wardle talks to Dan Roe about the story of his Fantastic Failure trying to start an airline for skiers. From the front page of the Financia…

03/12/2020

The only way we’re
Getting to the alps this year may be Harpenden Air.. thoughts?

02/04/2020

Once upon a time I was trying to start a private airline to the alps... Now in this Lockdown I run a digital education experience for teenagers to learn how to bring their ideas to life and make money doing it. And we've just released our fully virtual 16x16 programme kicking off next week.

First intake of 16x16 Fully Virtual led by myself and Dan Roe is starting next Wednesday 8th April.

Sign up 👉 https://lnkd.in/eU9KEe2

27/04/2017

Good Morning,

I'm hoping that shortly we'll be in a position to sell tickets on . Today I know some of the tickets go on sale for 2018 Ski season, so appreciate that those of you who are highly organised will want to get them booked.

I am not yet able to provide an exact date or details for flights, as this is still being worked through.

I will keep you posted on progress we make here.

Thanks,

Hugo

13/04/2017

is flying in 2018

It’s taken a full ski season to achieve, and I am delighted to announce that will be ready to fly for the 2018 season.

Having dived into the airline industry has been a breathtaking experience. The sheer complexity of making this a reality has been overwhelming. Without seasoned industry expertise and a desire to make customers dreams come true it wouldn’t be possible to create a service like HarpendenAir.

That’s why I am delighted to announce that FlyVictor (www.flyvictor.com) are working with me to make this idea fly. Dan Northover, CMO at FlyVictor got in touch with me at the beginning of the year after reading the FT article and seeing the potential for an amazing new service.

I’d really like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support, without it HarpendenAir would certainly not be possible.

When will seats be available?

Tickets will start selling before the Easyjet and BA ticket sales begin for next season. Current expectations are that seat reservations will be available in the next month.

What will the service look like?

The service will be using a 20 seat private jet, rather than the larger planes I had initially targeted. This is the best way to secure optimal routes and timings. You wouldn’t believe the challenges of getting permission to land where and when you want to.

We’re using a system to reserve seats that means the plane only flys if enough people buy seats. The price then goes down if the plane fills up. The price point is slightly higher than I was trying to achieve, this reflects the fact that the service will be a ‘proper’ private jet experience rather than a luxury charter experience.

Hopefully, as things progress it will be possible to provide a luxury charter service.

What dates will fly?

The first flight to be made available will be for Feb half term 2018 going from Luton to Geneva*. It will be for the Saturday and will hopefully have a morning flight slot.

•flight slots are not something that can be fully guaranteed because of the way the system works. And that’s the busiest travel day of the year for Geneva airport. We may also look at routes to Grenoble, Chambéry or other convenient alpine airports. Let us know what routes you’d like.

What if I want to fly another route or time?

Just tell us. Because of the technology we’re using if you want a route or time and enough other people want the same thing that service will be possible.

Who will be selling tickets?

FlyVictor will be selling the tickets and will be wholly responsible for the operation. As well as the skills and experience to make this fly, they also have the ATOL certification and financial base to ensure the service.

What happens if I’ve already given a deposit?

I’ll be giving you a refund of the deposit. I’ll also give you advanced access to the new flight offer. And I would like to take this opportunity to give you a massive thank you!!

Do I have to live in Harpenden to fly ?

Flights will leave from one of the private terminals at Luton Airport. That is highly convenient for Harpenden of course. If you have friends or family who don’t live in Harpenden it will be absolutely fine for them to travel HarpendenAir too.

If you have any other questions, just let me know.

Thanks again,

Hugo

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20/02/2017

I hope you all had fantastic half-term skiing and are now safely back into school run mode and thinking about next year's ski trips...

I have great news that I am now working with a Private Jet company to get Harpenden Air flying. We're working through the details over the next couple of weeks and I am hoping that we'll be able to host a drinks event shortly to bring together everyone who is keen to make their Ski travel as stress free as possible and get it organised.

In the meantime, If you are interested it would be great to do a re-count on numbers of people who would like to travel so please just add your name with number of seats you'd like.

It's also looking like we'll provide similar services around London and other key cities in the UK, so if you have friends or relatives you think would be interested, then just add their name and where they are.

I'm very much looking forward to joining you on a private flight to our skiing next year!

Stay tuned for further updates.

Cheers,

Hugo

19/01/2017

Silence. It's golden, isn't it? No screaming kids, no background noise. Absolute heaven.

But I am aware I have been silent for a while and the curious will be wondering if this is the silence of the dead, or the silence of the busy.

It is the silence of furious progress.

Stay tuned, and by the end of the month I will be able to give you juicy news.

Promise. :)

22/12/2016

Happy Christmas! Thank you all for an amazing journey in the last months of 2016.

As you feast and make merry during the festive season remember to dream about your future skiing holidays and the wonderful way you could get there...

See you all in 2017.

Cheers,

Hugo x

15/12/2016

Down in South Kensington meeting with Private Jet company. Very exciting meeting. Saw this very snowy display and beautiful building on my way.

another step forward.

13/12/2016

Morning Skiers!

I'm looking for 5-7 skiing family 'organisers' (the person who actually organises the ski trips) to come and discuss ideas with mince pies and a glass of wine.

Why?

I started this adventure to try and find less stressful, more enjoyable and more affordable ways to reach the alps to ski.

The private jet sharing is going well and clearly one option and I want to explore some other ideas I have.

When?

I'm thinking about 4pm on 29th Dec for 1 hr.

Any takers?

Thank you very much!

Hugo

12/12/2016

Good people of Harpenden, I need your advice! Our Feb half term flight for 2018 is filling up fast but for Feb half term 2017 we're finding that there's less interest.

Can you tell me - is this because everybody is already booked, or that it's just getting too close to Christmas to think about, or something else entirely! Your wisdom is much appreciated! Cheers, Hugo

Harpenden Air is the Facebook group for Harpenden Skiers who are interested in private flights to the Alps. It spun out of the Harpenden Parents Network.

11/12/2016

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