Air Southwest Limited is a British airline based in Plymouth, England. It operates regional scheduled passenger services from the south west of England. Its main base is Plymouth City Airport, with hubs at Bristol International Airport and Newquay Cornwall International Airport.

The company holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, permitting it to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.

DeHavilland Canada DHC-8-311 Dash 8 G-WOWA (sn 296) Air Southwest Photo taken May 12, 2005 Manchester International (Ringway) Airport, UK - England (MAN / EGCC) Photo Copyright and Thanks to Nigel Day

DeHavilland Canada DHC-8-311 Dash 8 G-WOWB (sn 334) Air Southwest Photo taken January 23, 2005 London Gatwick Airport, UK - England (LGW / EGKK) Photo Copyright and Thanks to Steve Morris

DeHavilland Canada DHC-8-311 Dash 8 G-WOWE (sn 256) Air Southwest Photo taken June 24, 2006 London Gatwick Airport, UK - England (LGW / EGKK) Photo Copyright and Thanks to Jenny Coffey

History
Air South West Limited was incorporated in the United Kingdom on 15 January 2003 as Placedean Technology Limited, changed its name to Mid South Aviation on the 27 March 2003 and then to Air South West Limited on 3 June 2003.

Air Southwest was established in May 2003 to fill the void left by the withdrawal of British Airways from the south west of England. Operations began on 26 October 2003, the day after BA withdrew from the market, with the Plymouth-Newquay-London route. This was soon followed by the introduction of the Plymouth-Bristol-Manchester route which was later extended to Jersey.

On 11 April 2005 the company established a new hub at Newquay, with direct flights to Dublin and flights to Leeds-Bradford via Bristol. At the same time, the airline added a crew base at Newquay, with five cabin crew, ten pilots, and one aircraft.

In April 2006 Air Southwest launched services from Newquay to Manchester via Cardiff, and from Bristol to Norwich (although the airline withdrew from this route in January 2007); in addition a crew and aircraft base was established at Bristol. On 30 October 2006 the airline introduced a fifth daily flight from Newquay to London.

On Saturdays during the summer, the airline operates a weekly charter flight between Jersey and Leeds-Bradford. The airline also operates charter flights on behalf of Plymouth Argyle F.C., transporting players and supporters to away games.

The airline uses the popular low fares, web-based format for bookings with over 90% of all bookings being made online. In its first eighteen months of operations Air Southwest carried over 200,000 passengers, increasing the number of passengers flying between Plymouth and Newquay and London Gatwick Airport by 22%. On 25 October 2006, the airline announced that it had carried 750,000 passengers since its launch.

The airline is a wholly owned subsidiary of Plymouth-based regeneration and transport group Sutton Harbour Holdings Plc, which also owns and operates Plymouth City Airport. The airline employs 72 people and is headed by Malcolm Naylor (previously chief executive of Brymon Airways, a Plymouth-based carrier integrated into British Airways in the 1990s).

On 1 November 2006, Air Southwest released its Summer 2007 schedule. The changes included the discontinuation of the Bristol to Norwich service on 14 January 2007, the airlines first route discontinuation since inception in 2003. The airline further consolidated its route network with the discontinuation of the direct Newquay to Leeds Bradford service which has routed via Bristol Airport from 16 January 2007, and an increase in frequency on the Plymouth to Manchester service which was increased to twice daily, via Bristol, on 15 January 2007.

On 24 June 2007 Air Southwest operated its last flights from Cardiff Airport to Newquay Airport and Manchester Airport due to low passenger numbers.

On 29 October 2007 the airline announced a major expansion of routes from Plymouth and Newquay, adding flights to from Plymouth to Glasgow, Newcastle, Dublin, Cork and Chambery and from Newquay to Glasgow, Newcastle and Chambery. These new routes will commence on 28 April 2008, except Chambery which will commence on 20 December 2008.

Destinations
- Air Southwest operates to the following destinations:
- Bristol (Bristol International Airport)
- Chambery (Chambery Airport) [begins 20 December 2008]
- Cork (Cork International Airport)
- Dublin (Dublin Airport)
- Glasgow (Glasgow International Airport) [begins 28 April 2008]
- Jersey (Jersey Airport)
- Leeds/Bradford (Leeds Bradford Airport)
- London (London Gatwick Airport)
- Manchester (Manchester Airport)
- Newcastle (Newcastle Airport) [begins 28 April 2008]
- Newquay (Newquay Airport)
- Plymouth (Plymouth Airport)

Fleet
The Air Southwest fleet includes the following aircraft (at March 2007):
5 Bombardier Dash 8 300 with 50 seats