Flybe-9
I REALLY SHOULDN'T BE HERE
Drop down 02 is an option for the Q400 and increases the operating ceiling to FL270. The only issue is that you have to fly for quite a time at FL270 to get any real benefit of lower fuel burn since you have to carry the extra weight of the drop down O2 kit. Hence most companies don't bother as Q400s are generally used for shorter flights.
I never had any problem maintaining FL250 in the Dash in the half decade or so I flew it unless ice was accreting on the airframe and the OAT was at or below -40C. Not a performance issue - rather a minimum operating temperature for the pneumatic de-ice boots.
I never had any problem maintaining FL250 in the Dash in the half decade or so I flew it unless ice was accreting on the airframe and the OAT was at or below -40C. Not a performance issue - rather a minimum operating temperature for the pneumatic de-ice boots.
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I was lead to believe the weight difference is closer to 4 - 5 tonne?
Flybe have recently evaluated their current and future fleet needs. For the next 3-5 years at least, the Q400s will remain the backbone of the fleet alongside the E175s. The ATR will of course have been part of the recent evaluation. However, for now, the Q400's "close to jet like speed", the efficiency within that field and its slightly higher seating capacity best suits the operation and avoids unnecessary costs right now that a new type would bring.
For much of the route network i do actually see the Q400 as the best frame for Flybe, especially when needing to be flexible with fitting in with the E-Jet schedules from time to time as well as operating on some longer sector routes. With a potential to be able to further increase the seating capacity on the Q400 aircraft, they could further improve their efficiency in this way alone and improve available seats on the network without too much significant cost.
That's not to say i dislike the ATR of course. But right now i fully understand the reasoning behind Flybes future fleet strategy evaluations and see it as the best fit for their ops for the foreseeable.
Flybe have recently evaluated their current and future fleet needs. For the next 3-5 years at least, the Q400s will remain the backbone of the fleet alongside the E175s. The ATR will of course have been part of the recent evaluation. However, for now, the Q400's "close to jet like speed", the efficiency within that field and its slightly higher seating capacity best suits the operation and avoids unnecessary costs right now that a new type would bring.
For much of the route network i do actually see the Q400 as the best frame for Flybe, especially when needing to be flexible with fitting in with the E-Jet schedules from time to time as well as operating on some longer sector routes. With a potential to be able to further increase the seating capacity on the Q400 aircraft, they could further improve their efficiency in this way alone and improve available seats on the network without too much significant cost.
That's not to say i dislike the ATR of course. But right now i fully understand the reasoning behind Flybes future fleet strategy evaluations and see it as the best fit for their ops for the foreseeable.
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My son was due to fly late this afternoon Bhx - Bhd. Flight cancelled due to no/not enough crew he was told. Not due to weather. They are being bussed to Man for a flight later this evening.
Wonderful.
Wonderful.
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There will crew/aircraft out of position all over the place in the UK tonight so while the official reason might be no crew it could well be because they are sitting on the tarmac out of position somewhere. Most airports north of central England are reporting diverts/cancellations today.
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TartinTon
You may well be correct. That is not what he was told, but that could be poor communication, hardly surprising with airlines/handling companies. If your suspicion is right, it would have been better to tell them that, it would have been more understandable. However, airlines, still, need to treat people like fools.
You may well be correct. That is not what he was told, but that could be poor communication, hardly surprising with airlines/handling companies. If your suspicion is right, it would have been better to tell them that, it would have been more understandable. However, airlines, still, need to treat people like fools.
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TartinTon
You may well be correct. That is not what he was told, but that could be poor communication, hardly surprising with airlines/handling companies. If your suspicion is right, it would have been better to tell them that, it would have been more understandable. However, airlines, still, need to treat people like fools.
You may well be correct. That is not what he was told, but that could be poor communication, hardly surprising with airlines/handling companies. If your suspicion is right, it would have been better to tell them that, it would have been more understandable. However, airlines, still, need to treat people like fools.
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Flybe at SOU.
My personal opinion is that when they used BOH to scare SOU into giving them a deal it is now coming back to haunt them.
easyJet was the first clue. SOU mustve been preparing that one as a contingency if Flybe really did pull out of SOU or transfer some services to BOH.
Now SOU seems to have gone all out to try and get the attention of the LCC's with a runway extension planned along with stands for multiple A320/738 sized jets.
If I was Flybe right now I'd be looking to lock down BIG expansion at SOU to prevent this from happening or they will most likely see increased competition from what is quite a niche market.
My personal opinion is that when they used BOH to scare SOU into giving them a deal it is now coming back to haunt them.
easyJet was the first clue. SOU mustve been preparing that one as a contingency if Flybe really did pull out of SOU or transfer some services to BOH.
Now SOU seems to have gone all out to try and get the attention of the LCC's with a runway extension planned along with stands for multiple A320/738 sized jets.
If I was Flybe right now I'd be looking to lock down BIG expansion at SOU to prevent this from happening or they will most likely see increased competition from what is quite a niche market.
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Flybe at SOU.
My personal opinion is that when they used BOH to scare SOU into giving them a deal it is now coming back to haunt them.
easyJet was the first clue. SOU mustve been preparing that one as a contingency if Flybe really did pull out of SOU or transfer some services to BOH.
Now SOU seems to have gone all out to try and get the attention of the LCC's with a runway extension planned along with stands for multiple A320/738 sized jets.
If I was Flybe right now I'd be looking to lock down BIG expansion at SOU to prevent this from happening or they will most likely see increased competition from what is quite a niche market.
My personal opinion is that when they used BOH to scare SOU into giving them a deal it is now coming back to haunt them.
easyJet was the first clue. SOU mustve been preparing that one as a contingency if Flybe really did pull out of SOU or transfer some services to BOH.
Now SOU seems to have gone all out to try and get the attention of the LCC's with a runway extension planned along with stands for multiple A320/738 sized jets.
If I was Flybe right now I'd be looking to lock down BIG expansion at SOU to prevent this from happening or they will most likely see increased competition from what is quite a niche market.
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Don't Flybe have an 'excess' capacity problem right now? They are desperately trying to offload jets and consolidate for some bizarre reason. I know of no company in the world that would make money from projecting ever declining market share.
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Given the extreme winds yesterday flybe operations remained robust in difficult conditions. Some staff were unable to get into work on time yesterday following falling trees and blocked roads, this resulted in regrettably a few cancellations with the first wave of afternoon flights. Staff were used from standby and worked day off to minimise disruption. Lots of sick bags used yesterday shows the conditions were less than comfortable. How about a job well done guys! instead of all this negativity towards flybe and the hard working airline crews giving their best day after day. Have a nice day!
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They are trimming their fleet down to about 70 aircraft so they aren't going to be able to do big expansions anywhere without sacrificing elsewhere.
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"Given the extreme winds yesterday flybe operations remained robust in difficult conditions. Some staff were unable to get into work on time yesterday following falling trees and blocked roads, this resulted in regrettably a few cancellations with the first wave of afternoon flights. Staff were used from standby and worked day off to minimise disruption. Lots of sick bags used yesterday shows the conditions were less than comfortable. How about a job well done guys! instead of all this negativity towards flybe and the hard working airline crews giving their best day after day. Have a nice day!"
You may well be very right in what you say. What your input does do is re-enforce my argument that airlines bring a lot of negativity upon themselves by not giving pax straight forward honest, open explanations of what the problem is. If you are just told, we haven't enough crew, what are you supposed to think? If, on the other hand, someone takes a few extra seconds to explain the background to the problem, throws a very different light on it, doesn't it?
You may well be very right in what you say. What your input does do is re-enforce my argument that airlines bring a lot of negativity upon themselves by not giving pax straight forward honest, open explanations of what the problem is. If you are just told, we haven't enough crew, what are you supposed to think? If, on the other hand, someone takes a few extra seconds to explain the background to the problem, throws a very different light on it, doesn't it?
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That's true but they have also said that any expansion would be market-led expansion instead of the capacity-led expansion introduced under French/Hammad.
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Capacity-led expansion is the reason for easyJet & Ryanair's success. They are forcing change. They are shaping the market. Demand/market-led expansion is a lazy way of saying that our company will evolve depending on the customer behaviour - which is very fickle and also very unpredictable. This is absolutely the opposite of what a low-cost business should be doing. I think an ownership change could be good for Flybe where they get the funding to allow them to get back into expansion mode.
Meanwhile...
Flybe seem to be spending a huge amount of time and effort pushing the female FlyShe campaign. There is no brand differentiation here. It is a hygiene factor like safety. If the best thing going for Flybe is to push the fact they have a female CEO then as a shareholder I am concerned about their future. Gender should have no relevance here. It should be about skill. easyJet never once mentioned that they had a female CEO (they didn't need to!) and never created a whole campaign around it. Flybe seem to be confused about how a true CSR campaign should be executed.
Meanwhile...
Flybe seem to be spending a huge amount of time and effort pushing the female FlyShe campaign. There is no brand differentiation here. It is a hygiene factor like safety. If the best thing going for Flybe is to push the fact they have a female CEO then as a shareholder I am concerned about their future. Gender should have no relevance here. It should be about skill. easyJet never once mentioned that they had a female CEO (they didn't need to!) and never created a whole campaign around it. Flybe seem to be confused about how a true CSR campaign should be executed.
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I fear that capacity led expansion is exactly what got Flybe into a position of peril. They signed up to an order for up to 140 Embraer 175's, most likely in the expectation that they would sign capacity agreements with Europe's major legacy carriers much as you find in the US. The problem is that Europe wasn't really ready for this type of consolidation and Flybe couldn't get enough traction from the legacy airlines to push them into it. Union issues and state ownership prevented such moves. Only BA have been willing to hand over their regional subsidiary, but in doing so left the market entirely when they sold BAConnect.
Will Flybe expand? Sure, in time I think they will but rather than having an order book that they're obliged to take, they now have a position of deciding whether to extend or terminate leases instead depending on demand. Sure they'll need to order more aircraft to expand in future but the current position is all about creating a stable platform to support the growth and this was something that Flybe simply didn't have. There wasn't enough underpinning the plans but slowly, things seem to be turning a corner.
Will Flybe expand? Sure, in time I think they will but rather than having an order book that they're obliged to take, they now have a position of deciding whether to extend or terminate leases instead depending on demand. Sure they'll need to order more aircraft to expand in future but the current position is all about creating a stable platform to support the growth and this was something that Flybe simply didn't have. There wasn't enough underpinning the plans but slowly, things seem to be turning a corner.
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Reversethrustset - I like how easyJet are doing it
Jobsagoodun - you make a fair point but capacity led expansion and skilled leadership are not mutually exclusive. CityJet seem to have done a superb job at signing European capacity agreements under White label ops
Now - a different subject would be who on earth thought the E175 would be a wise decision given weight, fuel burn and small jet seat mile costs.
Jobsagoodun - you make a fair point but capacity led expansion and skilled leadership are not mutually exclusive. CityJet seem to have done a superb job at signing European capacity agreements under White label ops
Now - a different subject would be who on earth thought the E175 would be a wise decision given weight, fuel burn and small jet seat mile costs.
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A cynic might suggest that the FlyShe campaign is topical but only getting so much airtime in the absence of any other positive messages coming out of Exeter. Although entirely laudable, it is surprising that the CEO can apparently devote so much time to this, sitting on the board of IATA and other things alongside trying to stop the rapid cash outflow and restructure a business in a difficult market. Posterity will be the judge of that one, I’m sure.