Originally Posted by
airsouthwest
As I've said before Flybe has a contract with the lessor to deliver the aircraft, it's the lessors responsibility to get the aircraft delivered on time and make sure those aircraft stayed in a serviceable condition for the last two years. From experience most lessors will do the bare minimum to them to keep them legal without paying out big money to keep them ready to fly away in days. Flybe signed the original contract last year so they've given the lessor & maintenance plenty of time to get these aircraft ready. Unfortunately, it hasn't worked out as anticipated which is very disappointing! I have to actually wonder myself why they didn't purchase a few Q400s to have a bit more control of availability rather than solely relying on leasing.
But let’s not pretend this is completely out of Flybe’s hands. Surely they knew earlier on - they raised the fares last month yet still kept the flights open. Ultimately they made the deal with the lessors and they should have made safeguards for such an instance.