Do you know what’s better than skiing and snowboarding? Nothing. Nothing at all. Well, okay, maybe surfing. And really, really good barbecue. But outside of that, skiing and snowboarding are just about the tops. If skiing and snowboarding were are footballer, they’d be Paul McGrath in his Aston Villa pomp. They’re The Chronic by Dr Dre. Skiing and snowboarding are the day your aggy teacher didn’t turn up and you got that half-deaf supply teacher in, who believed in letting you “express yourself” in crayon. We love ‘em.

But arsing around on a snowy mountain isn’t all fun and games. There are downsides, and unless you’re either fortunate or wealthy enough to live in a ski town, then flying to the hills is a must for virtually all of us, and that’s rarely a lot of fun.

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From searching endlessly for a cheap flight, to realising you’ve got to pay extra to take oversized luggage, to being stuck in the air next to a screaming baby… Yes, they may be first world problems, but problems they are nonetheless.

But wait. What if there was an airline designed specifically for skiers and snowboarders? Now there is. Powd Air (like “powder”, geddit?).

The Swiss based company, who start flights in December 2017, will be offering travel from a number of UK airports to Canton Valais in southern Switzerland, home of the Matterhorn, no less.

There will be five flights a week from the UK, departing from Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol, Bournemouth, Southampton and Southend, with tickets starting from just £99, and apparently never exceeding £150 one way. The price will, happily, include carriage of your skis or board as well. Result.

Landing at Sion airport, the flights will be nicely located for much of the Alps. Of course, it remains to be seen how the rest of airline industry will react to this new shark in the pond, offering ski-specific air travel, but you have to think it’s good news for the consumer.

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