ACL has granted Aurigny slots for a 2x daily LCY-GCI service for a Sept start date. 590 slots allocated (for 11,210 seats), all for D228 operations. Interesting to note that BE has also been allocated slots for five DH8-operated domestic routes (IOM, NQY, BHD, JER and INV) so will be competing 2x daily with Blue Islands on LCY-JER, but competition with GR on LCY-GCI is conspicuously absent for the time being.
Hammad & co. must feel certain that their cost-cutting programme will bear the necessary fruit, and that an LCY operation will not add substantially to their cost-base. Alongside the planned rebrand and ad campaign mooted for next week, whether this is true or not remains to be seen. But the prospect of Flybe operating an LON - Channel Islands service in competition with another carrier will surely cause rumblings at Aurigny Head Office.
Airport Coordination Limited - Reports/Statistics - London City Airport (requires download, for which a false email address works)