I don't think it's right to state that the Embraers have been a disaster for Flybe. The aircraft exiting the fleet have been in place between eight and ten years so they've seen good service.
I think it's important to consider what changed in the time that they we're in use with Flybe. Most were employed on routes to/from regional bases to LGW but when BAA divested of LGW the new owners significantly increased their charges to smaller aircraft to the extent that the routes were effectively no longer viable. It was then difficult for Flybe to find alternative year round routes in their network that required this level of capacity.
I also think it's possible that the E195's appeared to be more and more expensive as the years rolled on when you consider the rate at which both EasyJet and Ryanair started to retire their 737-700 and A319 fleets. I'd be interested to see the comparative lease rates of an E195 vs 737 vs 319 in 2008 compared to what they currently are in 2017 as I suspect that the E195 looked to present poorer and poorer value for Flybe.
With regards the E175, I don't see that Flybe have an issue with this smaller variant. They certainly aren't making noises about getting rid of this fleet as soon as possible, unlike the E195's. I think the issue with the E175's was the ridiculously large order they initially placed (35 firm, and another 105 options!)
Last edited by JobsaGoodun; 25th Apr 2017 at 20:37.