Should have flown to Specsavers
Is Specsavers setting up its own airline? Last week the optician registered ownership of another private plane with the Isle of Man authorities. The aircraft, manufactured by Textron, is thought to cost as much as $9 million when new and is the fifth plane the company has registered in the territory in the past 15 years.
Just why does Specsavers need these planes, Spy asks? After all, the overwhelming majority of its business is done in the UK and Northern Europe, which isn’t exactly short of commercial flights.
One explanation is that company is headquartered in Guernsey, the small crown dependency known around the world for its – squints at notes -- optometry expertise. Data from Flightradar shows the newly-registered aircraft made five trips in a 48-hour period last week, of which three were made from England to the island.
But another one could indeed be that Specsavers is building up a fleet to rival Ryanair. Spy can see the commercial viability of the move – free eye tests on board your next trip flight to Magaluf, perhaps. Well, you’d need your eyes checked if you wanted to holiday there.
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