Transatlantic Twist

Excitement is mounting among plane spotters and hotel keepers across the Ile over the prospects of tourists arriving from Nowhere, Virginia next year, into our very own Ramsgate Kent Manston London International Airport.

But it seems they're similarly expecting us to come to them, as this item I've just spotted from the Virginia Daily Press testifies:

"FIRST FLIGHT

In a welcome twist, the Jamestown 2007 celebration has put the "international" back in Norfolk International Airport's name. Thanks to a push from planners of the highly touted 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first permanent settlers from England, for a few months at the peak of the celebrations in 2007, a weekly charter flight will make a direct connection between Hampton Roads and Kent International Airport, near Ramsgate, just south of London. No more trekking through the larger hubs of Washington, D.C., or New York City, battling congested roads or high-priced domestic flights, to bring visitors back and forth.

It surely bodes well that the name of the charter company is none other than Monarch airlines - James I would have approved. And, just as members of the newly minted Virginia Company didn't know what to expect in 1607 when they arrived on the shores of the New World, English visitors to Jamestown's anniversary celebrations may also be in for some surprises, with the archaeological excavations that are regularly unearthing new treasures.

Already, though, there's a rumbling that fares won't be as low as initially projected. While the price of oil and the added costs of security fees have certainly bumped up the cost of air travel everywhere, it would be a shame if, before takeoff, the search for gold by the parties involved were to doom the flights and their obvious benefits to the area. To flourish, and perhaps establish a permanent link between the two regions, the fares must be competitive."

Sound familiar?