Fair fares, frequent flights, mostly on time, nice people!
(vs Irritating extras, rigid T&Cs)
BTW I just looked again at my last e-ticket and the T&Cs re flight changes are all there. Assumes people bother to read them of course. Maybe the those that complain booked through travel agents and don't get the same level of detail?
"(Except for the use of the hard to get Electron card to justify adding those unavoidable, for almost all, of us service fees and card charges, of course!)"
What is so hard to get about the Electron card? It was designed for people with less than perfect credit ratings, but that shouldn't stop savvy frequent fliers from stooping down to this level and opening up an account just for this purpose - putting snobbery to one side always works best with no frills airlines.
I agree that the fee seems extortionate, but if it genuinely allows airlines to offer cheaper fares elsewhere, what's the problem? I haven't flown with BE since last August, but I have just got back from a return trip with FR, where I paid £5 to fly BHX-BLQ, and then €5 for PSA back to BHX. The bus from BLQ to the city centre was €5, so if other people who don't have Electron cards were subsidising my cheap flights, I'm not complaining.
Afaik, the Co-op Cashminder account is open to all, and can be topped up from any post office. I wish Nationwide offered an Electron card too, as you'd then save on the foregin transaction fees too, but when the fares are this low, I'm really not complaining!
Abbey National also do an Electron card.. I've used for the first time over the weekend to book my FR and BE flights. Only took me 1/4 hour to set-up in branch, and so on... well worth it. Saved me about £25.00!
Heard that four EMB-195s are to be mothballed and that the next five Dash 8s due for delivery (G-ECOT, which should have been delivered, and G-FLBA to D) have been sold to another operator.
They aren't being mothballed, yet. The company is looking at options for their use, including wet leases or ad hoc charters and as far as I can glean their sectors will be picked up by the Q400.
Couldn't tell you about the 5 Q400's being sold but I did hear a similar rumour the other day.
Yes I have heard this rumour aswell. Also rumoured that up to four of those four emb190's are being sold to Lufthansa's regional arm - CityLine anyone have any further info on this? Also any news on the 4 ex SAS Dash's on the short term leases will they leave the fleet aswell as the other 5? potentially 13 aircraft on the way out then?
I cant see Flyble losing 5 195's just seems like 2 many.
There are still 2 145's left, maybe they are 5 'EMB's' going,
meaning 2 145's and 3 195's.
I dont know the loads of any other station but, Manchester MXP and LDE will be on a 195, with the odd MXP on a dash. But there are 4 or 5 extra Charaters starting soon, and i know that some of them are opertated by the 195.
So with the LDE definitely on a 195, there will either need to be 2 based 195's in MAN or alot of Positioning. I assume that Flybe will have summer charater flights out of other stations too, as was the winter 195 program.
Realistically I can only see 1 or 2 going, and if they do, they will only be leased out.
All businesses have to ‘right size’ to remain profitable and fit enough to ride out the current economic storm. Therefore, some adjustment to the FlyBe’s previously announced fleet planning is almost inevitable, especially given some of the double digit falls in pax numbers through many of their key hubs, which must be hurting them.
However, with two E-145’s to leave the fleet soon and at least two more Dash 8’s needed to launch the new LGW base, some pretty big cuts would be required to generate these aircraft, if no more Dash’s arrive and four 195’s disappear too.
Overall, these numbers don’t seem to add up, unless a major culling of frequencies and/or routes is in the offing too.
4 E95s are indeed planned to be removed from the schedule over the course of the summer. Affected bases have been announced as BHX, SOU, EXT and BHD.
I doubt very much that these aircraft are to be sold. I suspect that the intention is to release them from scheduled services where loads are currently better suited to the Dash, and to free them up for a variety of charters and/or leases, where the E95 has a greater potential.
I frequently fly with Highland on the Stornoway - Benbecula route and the service is not very good. I have on occasions been sitting around the airport expecting the be called and the staff have the binoculars out looking for the plane that has not even left were it was coming from yet. A simple phone call to a. let the staff know and b. let the pax know would only be common courtesy.
The fares are a joke too. Stornoway - Benbecula £120 economy return (if you are lucky) for being on 15 minutes and they normally have decent loads and that is it with government subsidy apparently. When I fly Benbecula - Inverness I normaly change onto Loganair (Flybe) in Stornoway as its much cheaper and the cabin is clean, tidy, your hand luggage doesn't get confiscated from you!
Also I was on when an elderly woman was travelling for a hospital visit who was unsteady on her feet and they refused to use ambulift, which I believe the lady's doctor requested. The lady fell over the deathtrap of a step and was hurt badly. Not an infrequent occurance from what I hear.
Even without subsidy I think Flybe (Loganair) would make a better go of the route. It would allow interlining services to Inverness and Edinburgh and also be more useful to Barra pax. It would also have cheaper connection to Aberdeen/Sumburgh.
What happened to the extra rotation of GLA -BEB throughout June and September, only JUly and August showing on flybe.com now.
Is there any reason why they would not be allowed to fly the route if the others get subsidy?
But the point being missed is that the SYY - BEB service is a PSO, public service obligation. This is a contract that must be tendered for in due course. Highland won it last time, from the previous incumbant, Loganair (pre Flybe days).
It would be illegal for any other operator to set up an additional service on this route to undercut them.
Incidentally the cost of the flights are agreed (if not set) by the Western Isles council. Any changes must be passed by them and approved before happening.
Another point of note is that a lot, if not the majority, of the seats are paid for by the state anyway. Most travellers are council staff or NHS staff and patients.
Perhaps Logan/Flybe will tender again next time, who knows. But in the mean time what you have got is what you have got.
The ambulift situation has been clarified on the other thread (Highland Airways).
The JS31 can use 'modified' ambulifts, available at SYY and BEB, but not INV.
The airport are required to provide them, but particularly at SYY they are often driven by HWY staff. The only reason ambulift would not be provided would be unserviceability (not uncommon) and high winds (also not uncommon). In that situation crews have been known to do all they can to assist pax with boarding. But if not possible it must be a Kingair or EC135. I have known this only once in eight years of operating the route.
My interest in this matter is as a former long serving HWY captain, and a recent new start Flybe Q400 captain.
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