BRS-BHD
As has been highlighted in other PPRuNe forums Flybe is to step in to replace some of the 'lost' UK routes to/from BHD following Ryanair's decision to pull out of BHD.
Flybe will operate BRS-BHD 'up to twice a day' from 31 October.
Mention has been made elsewhere in PPRuNe that Flybe operated this route in the past but pulled it, apparently in the face of competition from easyJet on BRS-BFS.
The route was stopped at the end of October 2006 along with BE routes from BRS to Toulouse, Bergerac and Bordeaux, again it seems primarily because of easyJet competition.
There was at the time and since a barely concealed difference of opinion (I put it no stronger than that) between BRS and Flybe which may, in part, explain the airline's decision to axe the entire BAConnect route network in early 2007 when it took over that airline.
In the past year or so it seems the tiff as been resolved leading Flybe to start an Isle of Man route earlier this year (to complement its sole remaining BRS route - to Jersey) and to include Bristol in its long list of airports that might see development when the large number of new aircraft begin to enter its fleet.
The other point to make is that Ryanair have been steadily gaining ground on easyJet on the Bristol-Belfast route this year, culminating in more passengers being carried on the FR BHD route than on the easyJet BFS route in both June and July.
This may have encouraged Flybe to believe that it can now fly successfully in tandem with easyJet, though the latter had already increased the number of some weekday rotations for the coming winter over its current summer schedule.