Although can BE really compete with carriers like LH? Not for me, the only
way they can compete even for the business traffic is by price
@Rivetjoint:
Pros of BE: E175>CRJ, Term C at DUS, timings of morning flight to DUS, punctuality/reliability. Free snack on LH
Pros of LH: Timing of evening flight from DUS, free drink. Flybe Q400 on some flights still
Would say 75% of passengers are carry-on only so baggage allowance a non-issue for many.
So this is not a carte blanche for FlyBe to think they can charge LH fares, but my experience is that it isn't only price. It is quite common for my colleagues to get the early BE flight to DUS (to get to destination before 1030), and then LH back (because BE flights back to Blighty are either too early, before 5, or too late at ~9pm). I might be on the wrong flights but the critical issue may be BE's ability to attract German customers.
But Rivetjoint makes the excellent point - are their business oriented routes where all the above matters enough to get the full value of the 35 E175s? Hmmm, that feels like a long-shot. But that is only a contract - negotiation is always an option. I do not think Embraer want BE to fail, then not pay for planes ordered which then leaves Embraer trying to find a buyer for E-Jets originally ordered by BE, at the moment when the now closed BE's jets are dumped onto the 2nd hand market...
It's called pandering to the whim of the travelling public.
But unfortunately it's the travelling public that pay the wages and keep the whole show on the road. When companies start thinking they know better than their customers, they are usually heading for a fall.
But it's an interesting point to think about - as a weekly commuter drawing against a budget, would I pay £20 more per week (i.e. 1 return) for E175 over Q400? Ummm hard... I would pay £10, but not £30. What about the other 50 odd people on the plane, does that cover the extra cost? I don't know but you'd hope BE do.