Originally Posted by
GCILover
Not only would the shut down of flybe be disasterous to the front line staff who give it there all. There is also the likes of all the staff at airports like SOU who for whatever reason mainly depend on the likes of flybe. Without them, there would also be god knows how many airport staff surplus to requirements that would also be out of work.
Yes! the management need to be held accountable, but this would be unbearable for more than just flybe staff.
Too right! Regional airports and regional airlines struggle to survive as it is: take FlyBe out of BHD, SOU, NQY, EXT, JER, and IOM, and it will be curtains for regional passengers over time. Yes we can lose FlyBe from LHR and maybe MAN/BHX and others will fill any hole. For me the question is how to keep the essential regional business routes open. EG: To get from GLA to SOU and back in a day is going to be 5hr+ compared to 1.5hr atm. But don't think any route that can't support a 319 is going to be picked up and served well over the medium term by any other airline. Most UK Regionals have gone bust already, in case you haven't noticed. And you can't recreate these routes with Loganair and Eastern. And trains on such routes are ludicrously expensive and slow. EDI to EXT by train is typically 8hr each way, so a half day business meeting becomes a 3 day jaunt, not a day return.
The regional airport/airline business model is already pretty much broken, with FlyBe being the last remaining comprehensive offering, fast disappearing. A swathe of Q400s parked up and available on the cheap is not going to entice other airline investors to rush in and grab.
I think there is a place for Govt to assist regional air connections (away from LON/SE), and help all airlines and potential airlines to maintain key non-LON trunk routes, whilst letting the peripheral French ones go. Otherwise remote communities are going to need more Govt support, and many thousands will need long term unemployment benefits.
(Similarly if FlyBe fails the CI residents will suffer: AUR isn't that healthy, and ACI has already seen its service deteriorate.)
That said it's a tall order to subsidise and yet avoid boosting the profits of other airlines and the pockets of airline investors, and keeping the green agenda going. Above my pay grade, that one.