| Martin Halstead | |
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 Martin Halstead |
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| Born | 18 May 1986 Oxford, England |
Martin Richard Alexander Halstead, born 18 May 1986 in Oxford, England, has acquired a reputation in Britain and more widely for his interests in the aviation industry.
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Halstead, the son of Michael and Susan Halstead, was born and educated in the Oxford area, and still lives in the city. Halstead has one sister.
Halstead's secondary education was at Abingdon School and D'Overbroeck's College. He left school at the age of 16, without having completed his GCE Advanced Level examinations. After a spell at Oxford Aviation Academy, Halstead decided that rather than complete his studies for a Commercial Pilot Licence, he would prefer to set up his own airline and focus on managing an aviation business.[citation needed]
Halstead first attracted media attention in the UK in March 2005 when, at the age of 18, he announced the launch of Alpha One Airways.[1] Alpha One Airways did not hold, and never applied for, an Air Operator's Certificate. Instead Halstead planned to subcontract the actual operation of flights to another carrier.
Alpha One Airways was due to launch its commercial services on the route linking Oxford and Cambridge with flights starting on 18 April 2005[2]. Alpha One never operated any services on the route, although from 1 February 2006 another small airline, Sky Commuter, for a few weeks had scheduled services linking the two university cities.
At the September 2005 B2B Routes Conference, held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Halstead spoke confidently of his plans for AlphaOne Airways, remarking that "the reception here at Routes has been very positive. The airports we're seeing are taking us very seriously and want to see us succeed" and "We have more than enough money to operate without a single passenger for six months"[3]
Returning from the Copenhagen Routes Conference, Halstead then made announcements of new routes for AlphaOne Airways, including a route from Cambridge to Bristol[4] and from Jersey to the Isle of Man. These never came to pass, but October 2005 he unveiled a new plan for AlphaOne Airways, this time working from a base at Southampton Airport and commencing operations on 7 November 2005 with flights to the Isle of Man[5]. No revenue flights were ever operated.
Halstead's last try with AlphaOne was in late 2005 when Halstead announced a service from Isle of Man to Edinburgh. He contracted Haverfordwest Air Charter Services (an AOC holder based in west Wales) to run a limited number of flights between the latter two airports. These operated between mid December 2005 and late January 2006. Less than 50 passengers were carried in the entire history of AlphaOne Airways.[citation needed]
At the time that he was endeavouring to set up AlphaOne Airways, Halstead acquired a reputation for wanting to live above his means, a situation about which he spoke candidly in a Channel 4 documentary broadcast in September 2005 when he told of his "fantasy James Bond lifestyle"[6].
In an interview with The Oxford Times in October 2006, Halstead reflected on the AlphaOne experience, admitting that he "had almost lost a sense of normality for a while." The newspaper reported that Halstead was working again, this time at a music shop in Oxford city centre[7]. Halstead became a director of the company which owned the shop. The company, called Delicious Music Republic, ceased trading shortly thereafter.[8]
After a spell working as a flight attendant and then completing his training for a Commercial Pilot Licence, which he acquired in December 2008, Halstead was briefly employed as a First Officer for Blue Islands, an airline based in the Channel Islands.[citation needed]
In January 2010 Halstead set up a new aviation venture called Varsity Express. The new company started services between Oxford and Edinburgh on 1 March 2010 and suspended operations one week later, after Halstead failed to pay fees due in respect of the small aircraft he had leased to operate the service[9].
A number of allegations of dishonesty surrounding Varsity Express were reported in The Times newspaper on 14 March 2010[10]. The article reported allegations that Martin Halstead used a fictitious name to pose variously as both the commercial director and the financial backer of the airline: launched the business with a partner who was disqualified from acting as a company director; boasted of fictitious investors; and obtained finance for the business by asking four newly-qualified pilot recruits to pay up to £15,000 each for specialised 'type training', which was never provided. The pilots' money was allegedly paid into Halstead's personal bank account.
On 16 March 2010, the Oxford Mail[11], the BBC[12] and The Scotsman[13] reported that the Economic Crimes Unit of Thames Valley Police are investigating two allegations of fraudulent activity at Varsity Express. Mr Halstead admits using a false name to hide his involvement in the company, in an attempt to avoid the effects of damaged credibility resulting from his previous failed ventures, but denies illegality [14] and states that he lost £3,500 of his own money [15].
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