Does anyone know for sure (no guessing please) which aircraft are going to service the Greek contract. There is a lot of conflicting information floating about on the web.
Jethro's has G-JECW, G-ECOE, and brand new G-FLBD/E as going and 'OE has been photographed in Olympic colours, albeit still with LN reg, from its stint with Wideroe.
Some sources also mention G-JECV going, as well as 'CW, but that seems to be too many.
The waters are further muddied by reports that 3 of the 8 brand new Q400's orders which Olympic announced in June are to be aircraft already built for BE. This makes some sense, as the Olympic order was for 5 Q400 Next Gen. and 3 'classic' models. Why buy the classics, unless there was some degree of urgency or compromise to get earlier slots? Are FlyBe deferring aircraft, selling them out right or leasing them to Olympic, to bring back when times look better.
Not sure about the others but G-ECOE is definatley going saw it in the hangar the other day in Olympic colours...pretty smart when I was in EXT. One of my mates is flying it out to Greece later this week.
Reported elsewhere that BHD - IOM ends on 23 October, no surprise there, I'm sure Manx2 will breath a sigh of relief. Also heard that Loganair may take over BHD - INV and/or ABZ to free up Q400s. Any truth in this?
Since you mention it Stelios was spotted at EXT being shown around....................just kidding! I'm sure its just some healthy competition with Easy and Flybe 2 biggest European/domestic carriers there. Although definatley wouldnt rule out some sort of Flybe/Lufthansa/BMI (regional baby or both) tie up/sale/alliance.
Noticed on Jethros today that the next three new Q400s in the G-FLB sequence appear to be going to Olympic Air and have been allocated Greek registrations. Strangely they also seem to have been allocated UK registrations G-PTHA, B and C. If they are going to Olympic, why the UK registrations?
"Noticed on Jethros today that the next three new Q400s in the G-FLB sequence appear to be going to Olympic Air and have been allocated Greek registrations. Strangely they also seem to have been allocated UK registrations G-PTHA, B and C. If they are going to Olympic, why the UK registrations?"
I think it is becausa they are wet-leased; the aircraft would have to be flown by British crews. I guess the arrangement to lease was done with the approval of the aircraft's owners/lessors, who insisted on their being wet rather than dry leased.
Here's one theory on what's happening here. Perhaps the FlyBe insiders could confirm or deny if it's on the right track.
The aircraft allocated the UK markings G-PTHA/B/C are not part of the 12 month leasing deal mentioned many times previously. Those aircraft have been correctly identified before and are starting to go to Athens.
The press release below, dated June, is about the Olympic/Pantheon order for their own Q400's and mentions 8, of which 5 will be 'Next Generation', which implies that 3 won't be. Also says that delivery will commence in July 2009 - order was only announced in June 2009.
So, it appears that these 3 aircraft are the July deliveries mentioned, and they, (or at least the build slots) were part of the undelivered element of the FlyBe order for 60 frames, and the slots have been sold/exchanged/given to Pantheon so they can expedite the receipt of their own aircraft. Obviously all with Bombardier's agreement, hence their inclusion in the order, rather then a sale by Flybe, which wouldn't count as new orders.
This also enables FlyBe to slow down their own deliveries and manage capacity better.
If this senario is right, it raises a few questions:-
1. Will FlyBe get new slots in the future or are these in effect cancellations, reducing their end fleet to 57.
2. Why are they passing through the UK register. Likely something to do with finance, or import to EU, or similar, I guess.
3. Where do the 4 ex-SAS aircraft (G-ECOV/W/Y/Z) fit into the picture? They were going to go back to Bombardier as the 4 aircraft previously with Wideroe returned, but they still seem to be around. I wouldn't be surprised if their continued use with FlyBe, at favourable rates, is part of the bigger picture.
G-FLBD arrived yesterday in full Olympic colours and departed this
morning for Athens.
G-PTHA Q400 was delivered to BHX just after midday in an all white scheme I believe.
In respect of G-PTHA was it ever bought by flybe (and then sold on to Olympic) or is it just part of the leasing arrangement, which sees
G-PTHA/B/C go to Greece and remain with Olympic?
Following on from the above and the previous post, what aircraft do flybe own (Q400's and 195's) and which ones are leased?
Whatever the answers are to the questions in the previous post and this one, it does seem that the flybe management certainly keep their options open when it comes to their fleet.
I notice that BHX has two based 195's scheduled to fly most days during November and they have retimed the early morning Belfast from September, changing it to a 195 so that it can operate 8 sectors if necessary (BHX-BHD-BHX-MXP-BHX-EDI-BHX-GLA-BHX).
According to the CAA Info database, G-PTHA is owned by MIG Aviation (UK) Ltd who are presumably a leasing company. The CAA database is probably the best way to check whether individual aircraft are owned or leased by Flybe.
MIG Aviation (UK) Ltd is probably something to do with Marfin Investment Group, since March 2009 the owners of Olympic Air/Pantheon Airways. No idea why the UK registrations, maybe tax, maintenance, certification or some Flybe-related reasons?
which aircraft are going to service the Greek contract. There is a lot of conflicting information floating about on the web.
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