By Grant Smith

THE COMMERCIAL director of the airline planning to start flights from Dundee to Birmingham and Belfast yesterday responded to concerns raised over a previous failed airline venture, insisting the new operation “has not put a foot wrong.”

Mr Aden Murcutt said that Poland-based White Eagle Aviation, which will use the trade name Flywhoosh in the UK, had been flying for 13 years.

He added it had no connection to another company, Flywho, with which he and White Eagle’s president Allan Fullilove had previously been involved.

Flywho was set up with the aim of running holiday flights from Birmingham to Florida, but it literally failed to get off the ground. Mr Murcutt had been chief executive and Mr Fullilove managing director.

BBC 1 show Watchdog ran a report on the the company last year, saying it had never requested a flight slot at Birmingham International Airport and had allowed its air travel organisers’ licence to lapse.

Asked about his experiences with Flywho, Mr Murcutt said, “It was very straightforward. Demand for flights to Florida went through the floor last year.”

He said rising fuel prices had also contributed to the failure.

It had been “the right venture at the wrong time.”

Asked if there was any financial or corporate connection between Flywho and the privately-owned White Eagle/Flywhoosh, he said, “Absolutely not.”

Mr Murcutt said, “White Eagle Aviation has been flying for 13 years. It has flown hundreds of thousands of passengers and has not put a foot wrong and it’s not going to start now.

“It is not a startup company. It currently has over 100 staff. Alan has been president for a year and a half and the company has moved heavily into profit.”

He said the possibility of running flights from Dundee had “come up on our radar” as White Eagle looked for commercial opportunities in the UK.

“We are looking to develop services for regional communities that are generally too small for the big companies to be interested in. We think that small is beautiful.”

Mr Murcutt explained that Flywhoosh has been chosen as the name for the UK operation because if had been felt that using White Eagle’s initials—WEA—could lead to the airline being dubbed “wee.”

White Eagle will use its Polish-crewed 46-seater ATR-42 turboprop aircraft on the routes, with two flights to Birmingham and one to Belfast Monday to Friday and a single flight to each on Sundays.

Birmingham International Airport said it welcomed the announcement of the start of operations on May 29.

The new airline’s website, www.flywhoosh.com, was showing a message last night that online flight booking starts on Monday.

Dundee City Council currently owns Dundee Airport, although control will pass to Highland and Islands Airports Ltd—owned by the Scottish Executive—later this year.

A council spokesman said, “We are dealing with a limited company, White Eagle Aviation, and the council has no financial involvement with the actual service.”