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That sounds fairly fatal to Flybe's Jersey operation, given that it is once weekly and summer only. Either they'll pull out or maybe expand to where easyJet cannot do so viably with its larger aircraft - however, I suppose that the former is more likely.
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Bye Bye Flybe
Why didn't flybe make more of their Southend location? 
Surely they could have made a success of a base there, and with all the development turning SEN into a real London airport they would now be well placed to coin it in. Now easyjet have booted them out. A missed opportunity, I think.
Surely they could have made a success of a base there, and with all the development turning SEN into a real London airport they would now be well placed to coin it in. Now easyjet have booted them out. A missed opportunity, I think.
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Assuming Flybe do pull out of SEN it is shame about them as they have stuck with the Jersey route for quite a few years, and in that time they probably did look at other routes from Southend and didn't think they made commercial sense. Perhaps they might consider other routes like Newquay but I very much doubt it. Another thing to consider is how secure Flybe are, so perhaps it is a good thing to go to Jersey the orange way. Let us hope the four times weekly flights are a success.
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Flybe could easily have opened up a base at Southend. This could have involved selling the Gatwick slots (lots of money there) or could have simply involved an additional London base. I would have thought that the following routes were (and continue to be) commercially viable are perhaps (* means if LGW base was closed):
- Paris-CdG (possibly, obviously Channel Tunnel implications)
- Brussels
- Guernsey
- Isle of Man
- Newcastle
- Newquay
- Frankfurt
- Hannover
- Nantes*
- Bergerac*
Last edited by Aero Mad; 20th Sep 2011 at 15:43.
Why would Flybe drop Gatwick infavour of Southend. The local demographic in Surrey is pretty wealthy making for customers willing to spend. Big risk to give it all up for a new airport
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easyJet 9 - Flybe Nil
Greetings to All for the first time!
I have not understood what Flybe are about for some time now. There was the new London Southend 'the place to be', yet they opted for Manston and to cap it all recently purchased a Finnish airline for umpteen millions.
It had occurred to me that Jersey could be a possible route for easyJet. Not only would they pick up the existing Southend business and build on that, but almost certainly would make inroads into Flybe's Gatwick - Jersey service. Surely Flybe must have known that a certain percentage (possibly significant) of their Gatwick passengers came from this side of the Dartford Crossing and yet they chose to operate only one service a week from Southend and up to eight from Gatwick! A seasonal once weekly service could never hope to realise full potential and that had to be obvious to the Flybe management surely.
Easyjet stand to take pax. from Gatwick and also very probably London City and Stansted. Looks as though it could be a very shrewd manoeuvre by easyJet.
I have not understood what Flybe are about for some time now. There was the new London Southend 'the place to be', yet they opted for Manston and to cap it all recently purchased a Finnish airline for umpteen millions.
It had occurred to me that Jersey could be a possible route for easyJet. Not only would they pick up the existing Southend business and build on that, but almost certainly would make inroads into Flybe's Gatwick - Jersey service. Surely Flybe must have known that a certain percentage (possibly significant) of their Gatwick passengers came from this side of the Dartford Crossing and yet they chose to operate only one service a week from Southend and up to eight from Gatwick! A seasonal once weekly service could never hope to realise full potential and that had to be obvious to the Flybe management surely.
Easyjet stand to take pax. from Gatwick and also very probably London City and Stansted. Looks as though it could be a very shrewd manoeuvre by easyJet.
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Further to easyJet 9 - Flybe Nil
Correction Re. Flybe services from Gatwick to Jersey:-
Should have read up to eight flights a day from Gatwick, not eight a week.
Therefore the comparison with only one per week from Southend seems all the more remarkable!
Should have read up to eight flights a day from Gatwick, not eight a week.
Therefore the comparison with only one per week from Southend seems all the more remarkable!
Wasn't the Flybe service basically an IT flight on which they sold spare seats rather than a 'proper' scheduled service, so comparisons with LGW is Apples vs Oranges?
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Yes, you are quite correct and I often thought that was the reason prices were sometimes very high in the past compared with their other Jersey routes, it was really a pseudo schedule. Maybe they could not undercut costs charged to the client, however I cannot see why that would stop them expanding the route next year, or from when the contract ended. Now it would appear too late and presumably Travelsmith's passengers will fly with Easyjet in future.
It is a shame to see Flybe leave Southend, if that is now their intention. There has to be more to it. I still have no doubt that they will lose Gatwick passengers to Southend, I know a number of people who live in Southend and are forced to use Flybe Gatwick, they are overjoyed at the news.
It is a shame to see Flybe leave Southend, if that is now their intention. There has to be more to it. I still have no doubt that they will lose Gatwick passengers to Southend, I know a number of people who live in Southend and are forced to use Flybe Gatwick, they are overjoyed at the news.
All this speculation about what Flybe may or may not do seems pointless in the absence of any statement from Flybe or even a rumour from a credible source. The more so if the comment by SWBKCB is correct, and I believe it may be. I understand the 2011 Jersey series were advertised (in the Southend area at least so this might not be the whole story) as "Stobart Air in association with Flybe".
Last edited by Tagron; 21st Sep 2011 at 08:56.
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Aer Arran plans for Southend
Hi, have Aer Arran not plans to slot in a take up "near Europe" routes out of Southend with their ATR's? Could this have been a deciding factor in Flybe not wishing to expand at Southend? Clearly Stobart Group will expect AA to develop services from Southend afer their investment in AA last year?
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Well, my pure speculation is that Stobart tried to encourage FlyBE to step in and develop routes from SEN but, despite substantial rumours a few years ago, FlyBE didn't do so. As a result Stobart decided to take matters into their own hands and take a slice of AA. My point is that FlyBE could have been placed in a strong position at SEN and would be pretty sure of running a profitable base, but failed to grasp the opportunity. Easyjet's SEN tickets are selling very well at the moment and with a close catchment of over half a million, plus ease of access from and to London by rail, should continue to do so. From SEN's point of view I'm sure EZY will be a better choice than FlyBE, but not so sure about Aer Arann unless Stobart are reconciled to them losing money for the first year of operations and then building up a carefully researched route network from spring 2012. AA need some new aircraft soon too, some of the ATRs are long in the tooth.......
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BBC TV Opening of the Airport Railway Station
The official opening of the new airport railway station by Theresa Villiers with some good views of the developments, plus a short and embarrassing soundbite from SAEN.... "limitating"..?
BBC News - Southend Airport railway station officially opened
All systems go.
BBC News - Southend Airport railway station officially opened
All systems go.
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This is an interesting thread but Flybe not expanding at Southend is hardly the end of the world for them. The market at LGW is developed and strong. BMI couldn't successfully compete on JERLHR and neither could EZY from their stronghold at LTN. I really don't think EZY coming on Southend will be particularly worrying. Whilst I am sure that both LHR and LTN services took some passengers from LGW during the times that they operated, in the end both were discontinued. I'm not saying that this will happen again but those that believe that Flybe are weak, commercially and financially are very wide of the mark in my opinion.
Flybe are the largest domestic carrier in the UK, through their joint venture in Finland they will also be the largest domestic carrier in this country to. They have developed strong commercial relationships with major European carriers, BA, AF and Finnair, long standing legacy carriers who recognise the strength of Flybe as a business partner.
SWBKCB is correct, the Flybe service is effectively a part-charter service on behalf of a tour operator who didn't need all of the seats and left the remainder for Flybe to sell direct. If the requirement is still there next year then I'm sure Flybe will operate again, but this decision will not necessarily be one that Flybe take, it will be down to the tour operators as to whether they require it. There is absolutely nothing to suggest that tour operators will suddenly be putting passengers Easyjet's way. Flybe will certainly be able to operate cost effectively against Easyjet with the Q400 - look at LPLIOM where many predicted that Flybe would run off into the distance.... the reality is quite different and the market has grown to support both carriers.
Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that Easyjet will have some success from Southend but I don't think you'll find it affecting any LGW services, and I don't imagine Flybe are concerned much in the slightest. They had their opportunity to build services at Southend and clearly made the decision that the demand wasn't there for them and their business model. EZY may be different but it remains to be seen.
Flybe are the largest domestic carrier in the UK, through their joint venture in Finland they will also be the largest domestic carrier in this country to. They have developed strong commercial relationships with major European carriers, BA, AF and Finnair, long standing legacy carriers who recognise the strength of Flybe as a business partner.
SWBKCB is correct, the Flybe service is effectively a part-charter service on behalf of a tour operator who didn't need all of the seats and left the remainder for Flybe to sell direct. If the requirement is still there next year then I'm sure Flybe will operate again, but this decision will not necessarily be one that Flybe take, it will be down to the tour operators as to whether they require it. There is absolutely nothing to suggest that tour operators will suddenly be putting passengers Easyjet's way. Flybe will certainly be able to operate cost effectively against Easyjet with the Q400 - look at LPLIOM where many predicted that Flybe would run off into the distance.... the reality is quite different and the market has grown to support both carriers.
Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that Easyjet will have some success from Southend but I don't think you'll find it affecting any LGW services, and I don't imagine Flybe are concerned much in the slightest. They had their opportunity to build services at Southend and clearly made the decision that the demand wasn't there for them and their business model. EZY may be different but it remains to be seen.
Last edited by JobsaGoodun; 22nd Sep 2011 at 19:49.
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JobsaGoodun your remarks are interesting and are no doubt correct regarding Flybe and their present and future potential. However, if, as you suggest, they possibly considered that the demand was insufficient for them at Southend and that it did not fit their business model, why do you think that they must have considered Manston to be the opposite case? I read speculation somewhere that there could be some form of regional subsidy behind it.
Further to my some-what negative remarks concerning their sinking millions into a Finnish airline, it does now appear that Flybe-Nordic may be well placed, with the news that airBaltic are filing for bankruptcy protection. It could well be that one has to say well done Flybe.
Further to my some-what negative remarks concerning their sinking millions into a Finnish airline, it does now appear that Flybe-Nordic may be well placed, with the news that airBaltic are filing for bankruptcy protection. It could well be that one has to say well done Flybe.