Captain Horrendous
I know that Flybe will be basing a third q400 aircraft on the IOM imminently - initially as an operational spare to improve the robustness of the local operation
Well thank goodness for that. Having endured the delays WDL have inflicted (crew taxi fails to pick them up, so 0650 LGW delayed; next day crew delayed the previous day are out of hours so 0650 LGW delayed again..ugh.
And their 146-100 is registered D-AWDL - dawdle, geddit!) I would really like to get a schedule I (and others seeking a connection beyond LGW) can rely on.
I'm sure that once the Q400 a/c settles down the service will be good. But there are many Manxies who've turned to the Steam Packet to ensure they get to their holiday destination - they will need to be convinced that they can rely on the FlyBe service to get them to the UK on time and on the same day before they spend their pennies on FlyBe tickets.
The sooner the service gains stability the better. For punters; for crew; for all. FlyBe management have a lot of work to do to overcome the badwill the BAConnect takeover has generated.