Aurigny oldest established airlines in Britain after Loganair. The origin of its name lies in the cognate across Norman languages for Alderney. Aurigny Air Services was founded by Sir Derrick Bailey and started operations on 1 March 1968 after British United Airways withdrew from the Alderney to Guernsey route. It initially operated Britten-Norman Islander aircraft, developing a highly efficient network linking the Channel Islands with each other and with France and the United Kingdom. During the first year of operations the airline carried 45,000 passengers between Guernsey, Jersey and Alderney. Aurigny became the first commercial operator of the Britten-Norman Trislander in
Aurigny survey by market researchers islandopinion.com showed that Aurigny was the most popular airline which served Guernsey. On 21 June 2007, Aurigny got permission from its sole shareholder, the States of Guernsey, to raise a private loan to purchase two new ATR 72-500 aircraft which entered service in March 2009. Aurigny celebrated 40 years in operation in 2008. It was voted 4th-best short-haul airline in a poll published in the consumer magazine "Which?". In a survey of 30,000 members the magazine examined 71 airlines and asked readers to rate each carrier for standards of check-in, cabin staff, cleanliness, food and entertainment.