Teenager starts airline

LONDON – The founder of Britain’s newest airline is discussing his business vision when a very different image pops into his head – that of his newly hired troop of stewardesses.

At just 19 years old, entrepreneur Martin Halstead may be forgiven for displaying preoccupations more adolescent than corporate. “They’re all very good looking,” he says of the onboard staff of Alpha One Airways, which began flying last week between the south of England and the Isle of Man, a tax haven off the southeast coast.His very real achievements are seemingly lifted direct from the average teenager’s daydreams: He set up his first business at 15, and qualified as a pilot at 18.As the face of the airline, bawdy talk fits neatly with the persona he wants to project.”I see myself as a James Bond type,” he said, and adds that he hopes to be driving an Aston Martin fairly soon.If this kind of personality-driven business strategy sounds familiar, it’s because Halstead has honed his plans in talks with Virgin’s Richard Branson.”He’s been so fantastic,” says Halstead, who was invited on Virgin’s inaugural flight to Mumbai after Branson read about him – inevitably earning Halstead the “Baby Branson” tag from the British press.”Basically, he said the most important thing about how you present your business is in how you present yourself,” Halstead said.The admiration is mutual, with Branson describing Halstead as being “as bright as a button.”When Halstead resolved to start the business, it was partly to address a more prosaic concern: He was worried about getting a job.He has been a plane fanatic since his first flight at age six, and quit halfway through his studies for his A-level exams to train for his pilot licence, which he was awarded age 18.The airline is not his first venture.He’s been bringing in cash since he was 15, when he started selling his own computer programmes – flight simulators.- Nampa-AP”They’re all very good looking,” he says of the onboard staff of Alpha One Airways, which began flying last week between the south of England and the Isle of Man, a tax haven off the southeast coast.His very real achievements are seemingly lifted direct from the average teenager’s daydreams: He set up his first business at 15, and qualified as a pilot at 18.As the face of the airline, bawdy talk fits neatly with the persona he wants to project.”I see myself as a James Bond type,” he said, and adds that he hopes to be driving an Aston Martin fairly soon.If this kind of personality-driven business strategy sounds familiar, it’s because Halstead has honed his plans in talks with Virgin’s Richard Branson.”He’s been so fantastic,” says Halstead, who was invited on Virgin’s inaugural flight to Mumbai after Branson read about him – inevitably earning Halstead the “Baby Branson” tag from the British press.”Basically, he said the most important thing about how you present your business is in how you present yourself,” Halstead said.The admiration is mutual, with Branson describing Halstead as being “as bright as a button.”When Halstead resolved to start the business, it was partly to address a more prosaic concern: He was worried about getting a job.He has been a plane fanatic since his first flight at age six, and quit halfway through his studies for his A-level exams to train for his pilot licence, which he was awarded age 18.The airline is not his first venture.He’s been bringing in cash since he was 15, when he started selling his own computer programmes – flight simulators.- Nampa-AP