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8:44am Monday 6th September 2010 in
Bournemouth Airport and airline Palmair have received a boost from one of the UK’s most outspoken columnists.
Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson wrote in his page in The Sun on Saturday that he had initially been “disappointed” to find that his two-week holiday would be starting with a Palmair flight from Bournemouth.
He had imagined that “things would not go well”.
The often-scathing journalist wrote: “The plane – probably a Sopwith Camel – would be marooned in Tenerife and would not be able to pick me up until it had deposited a party of Swedes in Yugoslavia.
“I’d therefore be spending my entire fortnight at Bournemouth Airport. A place where Coca-Cola has not yet been invented and all you can have is mead.
“Wrong. Bournemouth Airport is brilliant and Palmair was even better. We took off on time, landed on time, the food was nice and we didn’t crash once.”
It serves as a high-profile boost for both the airport and Bournemouth-based Palmair, who have both suffered during the recession – Ryanair and Palmair announced in the summer that they would not be flying from Hurn this winter.
Palmair boss David Skillicorn said he knew that someone with the name Jeremy Clarkson had booked with the airline, but didn’t think anything more of it.
“It can’t do any harm at all and he was complimentary about the airport as well, which will please them too,” he said.
“In an industry that’s had very little good news for as long as I can remember it’s good to get a pat on the back and particularly from someone so high profile.”
The writer has not always been so complimentary about Bournemouth in his column. Last year he lambasted roadworks on the A338 and the town’s traffic problems.
Comments(23)
richfire
says...
8:57am Mon 6 Sep 10
boracay
says...
9:45am Mon 6 Sep 10
Branksome Park Person
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9:52am Mon 6 Sep 10
High Treason
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10:25am Mon 6 Sep 10
Far Corfe
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10:43am Mon 6 Sep 10
boracay wrote:Probably about as outdated as your spelling and grammar!!!!!!
PalmAir far to expencive, prefer TrailFinders much better service - passport service, visa service, insurance, and medical services, good for long haul flights. Use them for the last 20 years. best in the industry. PalmAir out dated and overprice on short hall and long hall airticket's. last ticket office i would use.
richfire
says...
11:04am Mon 6 Sep 10
High Treason wrote:Hey you are absolutely right. I like to give something back to the community, so I have employed 3 local people who were out of work. I have a guy called Stephen MacLoughlin who loads my bags and cleans my lapton, and two ladies called Pam Donellan & Joy Postings who push the trolley and serve tea, mind you the women are always chatting to each other secretly in the toilet.
richfire, Poole says... 8:57am Mon 6 Sep 10 " The government should switch on and encourage and subsidise airlines and tour operators to use these facilities" Subsidise? Why should tax payers subsidise air travel? Next you will want us to provide a private jet for your visits to the office with a waitress on board for your every whim.
StewieJT
says...
12:22pm Mon 6 Sep 10
richfire wrote:It's 30 min from Gatwick to Victoria, then 5 min on the Tube to Waterloo. Heathrow to Paddington in 25 min, then 20 min on Tube. How on Earth could you possibly find it quicker to fly to Bournemouth, then presumably take a 15 min taxi ride to the train station, where the train will take 2 hours? Is your real name Pinnochio?
We should be grateful and proud to have excellent regional airport facilities in our area. The government should switch on and encourage and subsidise airlines and tour operators to use these facilities. Being a frequent flyer I have found that it was quicker to fly into Bournemouth and travel to my office in Waterloo by train than it was to land at Gatwick and Heathrow and do the same. Well done Bournemouth. Maybe when Bournemouth Council open its new IT training facilities the airport usage will quadruple!
AbuThanett
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12:35pm Mon 6 Sep 10
tjayuk
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12:48pm Mon 6 Sep 10
Julian2010
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1:43pm Mon 6 Sep 10
Julian2010
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1:43pm Mon 6 Sep 10
Chirpychap
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1:43pm Mon 6 Sep 10
hoppy
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1:50pm Mon 6 Sep 10
Onesock&onecheezcake
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1:57pm Mon 6 Sep 10
Rossi 27
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3:50pm Mon 6 Sep 10
richfire wrote:With Stephen MacLoughlin on board I would be very careful what the in-flight movie is.
High Treason wrote: richfire, Poole says... 8:57am Mon 6 Sep 10 " The government should switch on and encourage and subsidise airlines and tour operators to use these facilities" Subsidise? Why should tax payers subsidise air travel? Next you will want us to provide a private jet for your visits to the office with a waitress on board for your every whim.Hey you are absolutely right. I like to give something back to the community, so I have employed 3 local people who were out of work. I have a guy called Stephen MacLoughlin who loads my bags and cleans my lapton, and two ladies called Pam Donellan & Joy Postings who push the trolley and serve tea, mind you the women are always chatting to each other secretly in the toilet.
Fire_fly
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4:42pm Mon 6 Sep 10
Xchurch-man
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5:07pm Mon 6 Sep 10
Far Corfe wrote:I reckon Borocay also goes under the name "Abuthanet". Both have the same standard of awful spelling and grammar, also the same stupid opinions. What sort of moron would want a long standing local company to go bankrupt leading to the loss of many local jobs? If you don't like them don't use them, Simple!! Or are you just jealous because you cant afford to use them??
boracay wrote: PalmAir far to expencive, prefer TrailFinders much better service - passport service, visa service, insurance, and medical services, good for long haul flights. Use them for the last 20 years. best in the industry. PalmAir out dated and overprice on short hall and long hall airticket's. last ticket office i would use.Probably about as outdated as your spelling and grammar!!!!!!
frenchbootboys
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9:16pm Mon 6 Sep 10
jobayob
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9:32pm Mon 6 Sep 10
Frank2010
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8:12am Tue 7 Sep 10
peter hurt
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10:53am Tue 7 Sep 10
denisd
says...
1:44pm Tue 7 Sep 10
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Syd Poumen says...
8:54am Mon 6 Sep 10
Great commercial stunt!!