Entrepreneur flying high with Leeds business airline Extrajet launch

LEEDS-BORN businessman James Thorpe is aiming to fill a gap in the travel market by launching airline ExtraJet.

Mr Thorpe is based in Denmark, but plans to launch the business-friendly airline at Leeds Bradford Airport.

He came up with the idea for the airline to fill the missing piece of Yorkshire’s infrastructure puzzle, and is aiming to help businesses exploit routes and markets that are considered too small by major airlines.

With 37-seater jets already in place, he is looking for support to drive forward the airline service, which will offer twice-daily flights from Leeds Bradford Airport to Copenhagen and Antwerp, with plans for expansion to other sites.

They will be early morning and late evening flights to serve the business community.

He said: “Business people wanting to travel internationally, to drive their export sales, are badly served by Yorkshire’s airports.

“It is impossible to fly to many of the key European business destinations, and those looking to fly to other continents from Yorkshire are forced to fly to London first.

“The same applies to business or pleasure travellers from Europe wishing to travel to the region. This is simply unacceptable for a county the size of Yorkshire.”

Mr Thorpe lent towards Yorkshire for the launch of Extrajet because of its potential, with 6m people and an economic output of £88bn, it was the ideal location to set up a new airline.

The airport at Copenhagen handles 30m passengers a year, and both act as a gateway to Scandinavia and the rest of Northern Europe.

Extrajet want to source the capital they need in the Yorkshire region from local, experienced investors who align with Mr Thorpe’s ambitions to improve Yorkshire’s infrastructure to the benefit the whole region.