Two Bradford businessmen are using their entrepreneurial spirit to take to the skies by starting a new airline which will operate from Leeds Bradford International Airport.

Brothers Philip and Mike Firth have set up Planet Air, which will be a low-cost, flight-only service which will fly to Malaga, Alicante, Faro and Tenerife.

The airline will be using a McDonnell Douglas-83 167-seat aircraft and will only operate on peak holiday departure dates.

Philip Firth, who has been in the travel business for 30 years and was general manager of former Bradford company Intasun Skyworld and head of marketing and business development at Leeds Bradford Airport, will run the company as managing director.

Mike Firth, who founded the former Bradford-based Yorkshire Food Group, was the man behind Yorkshire International Business Convention, and former chairman of the £250 million National Superdome project, will act as chairman.

The pair came up with the venture when Philip Firth was made redundant and they decided to put into action a viable business plan, which he devised during his time at Leeds Bradford Airport.

"I said at that time I believed there was scope to attract far more passengers to the airport and even then I could see the gap in the market that Planet Air will be filling," he said.

"We are confidently expecting to carry more than 60,000 passengers a year, so that will fulfil not only a personal promise but a business dream."

The new airline will be in competition with Jet 2 which recently announced it would be flying out of the airport from February, but Mike Firth says there is room for everyone.

"It creates publicity for the airport and there is plenty of room for everyone," he said.

The airline will be aimed at the independent holidaymaker and one-way flights to Malaga and Faro will start from under £50.

The first Planet Air flight will take off for Tenerife on April 11, 2003. Leeds Co-op Travel will handle flight sales and seats can be reserved immediately by calling 0845 0606666.