FlyBe - 6

[JC25]

Flybe are to begin flights on behalf of Finnair from October 2010 through to the end of the summer 2011. Good to know that there is now work for the aircraft (and hopefully crews) returning from Athens at the end of the Olympic Air contract

[Maverick8701]

Last thing I heard before it was agreed was Dash's so unless it's changed some interesting flying ahead!!!

[Tonyq]

This report indicates 3xQ400's.

Boarding.no : Finnair and FlyBe in cooperation agreement

I wonder if this means the ex-SAS quartet will now be staying. The decommissioning of G-ECOW had suggested they were going to be replaced by the aircraft coming back from Olympic.

[Deano777]

A Dash it is, 3 x Q400s

[Calmcavok]

Another exciting development for Flybe. What about an exciting development in pay & conditions? I won't hold my breath...

[Cloud1]

Would be nice to see some Flybe routes.....am I right in saying that BE pax will not be able to book these Finnair routes on Flybe's website and it is literally just a copy of what the Olympic contract was just in Helsinki instead??

[virginblue]

Anyone in the know what FlyBe's position is re the cancellation of some of their EDI-NQY flights in September? Are they re-booking pax to/from EXT? The only other option I can think of would be dumping pax to dry out in the cold as they cannot route pax via LGW, obviously (unless they are happy to put you on a 2 stop flight)

They have tried to call me and I would like to be prepared when discussing the matter with their customer service (EXT is no really practical as I have accommodation / rental car etc. in NQY...).

[JC25]

I would imagine that they will offer you either a full refund or an alternative, perhaps EXT as you suggest. But if you're happy to do NQY-LGW-BHD-EDI as an alternative and the times match up, they may let you do that...

[Serenity]

Finnair blames ash cloud for widening losses | ABTN

[GCILover]

I see Flybe are now selling flights from SOU-ORY from the winter season. I thought it might have been as part of the AF codeshare but if you go to book or look at the timetable it shows 3 flights per weekday (the first and last being on a SOU night stopping aircraft) and states, operated by flybe using a q400.

Does anyone know if this is going to be as a replacement to the CDG service or an addition as an extra route ????

[RNWY03]

Sou - Ory

GCI Lover

Seem to remember that when the AFcodeshare arrangment was announced by Flybe it was stated that they would be taking over the SOU-ORY route from AF. It was reported a few days later in the local (Southampton) press, by a Flybe spokeman that the CDG service "may return" in the future........hedging their bets?

[teleparty]

Am curious why flybe have not tried flights to poland. Especially from Southampton where i think 1 in 10 are polish.

[jpthomas72]

Am curious why flybe have not tried flights to poland.

Due to Ryanair, basically. Also the wrong planes. Ryanair has very strong Eastern European connections, from Bristol and Stansted. Also Wizzair at Luton. Doesn't seem so close from the South but there are coaches (check your local Polish shop). Poland really wouldn't work with BE's Q400, it's too far, and the Embraers need to be full to make any money. It's just not FlyBE's market. I'd also guess Easyjet's Berlin flight from Gatwick has a good portion of Polish people (esp from Poznan, Szczecin). Some people you think are Polish are actually Lithuanian or Latvian and they have flights from Gatwick already. Oh, not to forget, BA and LOT have Warsaw flights from Heathrow which are really not that expensive, at high frequency. Competition in Eastern Europe is fierce and more than one airline has already gone under there. BmiBaby once tried an adventure at Birmingham to go to Poland, gone so fast you couldn't see.

[darren1]

I'm sure Southampton to Poland flights overnight would work, be it EMB 195 or D-8's. Poles will fly at any time of day if it's cheap and it would keep the Flybe aircraft in the air, 10PM take off and 6 or 7AM arrival, just intime to fly the first domestic of the day.

[teleparty]

It can not be underestimated just how many Polish people there are in Southampton. Its around 20,000 with the majority returning home at least once a year. I personaly am surprised that flybe havn't at least tried to tap into this market. Sure wizz would try it if their planes were not stupidly big.

[Jamie2k9]

Ryanair served Wroclaw from Bourthmouth for a while and I think Krakow was there for a while but i'm not sure.

[IJM]

Sure wizz would try it if their planes were not stupidly big.

Yes, how reckless of Wizz to dare to use those behemoths of the skies - the A320!

[teleparty]

Well they don't strike me as the best plane to use if your a low cost airline. A319 would be better suited surely, well easyjet seem to show anyway.

[big d1]

EasyJet actually changed some of their A319 orders to A320's after gaining and operating a couple following the purchase of GB Airways. JetBlue seem to have made the A320 work very well aswell. Also Ryanair have been pretty successful operating an aircraft bigger than the A320.

[teleparty]

Just think your limiting the routes you can operate by having a bigger plane. Makes sense to have one type but why not a small plane? You can operate far more routes and if you need extra capacity just add more rotations. More frequency is only going to be welcomed by customers.