What should Flybe do?
Deano777 said: 'They've tried something, it hasn't worked in it's entirety. They're not the first airline management to try routes and pull them, and they certainly won't be the last. The UK regional market is saturated, that much is a fact the uk is a tough nut to crack, but what should they do? Pack up their train set and just call it a day?'
I use Flybe on an almost weekly basis at this time of year from either BHX or EMA. Based on this (which I accept is only anecdotal evidence), I would suggest 3 things:
(i) identifying new routes based on a concept other than randomness (BHX/BOH-Deauville or even BHX-CGN which history tells us has never worked for any operator) and giving them a chance of success. For example, I can't understand why the BHX routes are being pulled as we are about to enter the summer season when they've operated over the winter. OltonPete's stats broadly show decent load factors in winter on, for instance, OPO. So why not carry it on over the summer? Last week a couple behind me on the flight were looking at the destinations from BHX and were toying with the idea of going to FLR in the summer. But, unknown to them, they won't be able to use the service as it has been pulled. Yet there remain 195s sitting on the ground effectively mothballed. Surely some summer routes from BHX and MAN could be launched to meet those leasing costs?
(ii) actually implement what I understand to be a broad strategy of making things a little easier for the customer. There's still too much 'jobsworthiness' at some airports in my view - for example, some handling agents refuse to check in passengers who have not used the self-service check-in machine when the agents are doing nothing. I accept this is the agent company and may even depend on the individual on the day but the customer, I'd suggest, will associate that with Flybe;
(iii) avoid going back on previously declared company policy e.g. the setting up of a 2 aircraft base in Cardiff. I've nothing against Cardiff but this chopping and changing in strategy so soon after the strategy has been declared doesn't really promote confidence. I really can't understand how routes previously pulled when being operated on the lower cost Q400 will make money being operated by a 195.
I'm a pretty loyal Flybe customer and would use them more - if they didn't keep pulling routes (a la bmibaby) and made the experience a tad more pleasurable.