Originally Posted by
Blackfriar
Whatever happens, do the Flybe and flybmi models actually work any more? There seem to be simple economics at play. If you can fill the aircraft with the lowest seat/mile costs, then the route is viable. The tiny sub-market of small aircraft and higher fares for business users is marginal and likely to be swamped by a lo-co the minute the route shows any sign of volume demand. Do either bidders for Flybe aim to change the model to Lo-co or keep it staggering on as is?
The Flybe model is actually already different to the bmi regional model, which is plain to see. However, it does need a clearer direction and that is for one closer to a ULCC style operation. They have the correct type of aircraft for the routes and network they serve and ultimately their fuel spend is lower than some of their competitors due to this and the lower average flight times they operate. What they have always struggled with to make money on unlike their LCC competitors, is their reluctance to push and increase ancillary revenue spends. Coupled with their many legacy overheads and no one in charge with the guts to change either, i feel it has brought them to where they're at now.