New Flybe routes
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New Flybe routes
Just released by flybe this morning....
FlyBE. becomes Southampton's No. 1!!
- announces new routes to Alicante, Ibiza and Bergerac -
Within just days of commencing new services out of Southampton, FlyBE., the low fares airline for the regions, has announced even more new routes, positioning it ahead of BA to become the airport's biggest carrier.
FlyBE. announced today (08 April 2003) that it is further expanding its Southampton hub with new daily flights to Alicante in Spain and Bergerac in France. The airline is also adding the Balearic island of Ibiza to its route network with a busy weekend schedule.
The new flights, with fares starting from just £29 (plus taxes and charges), will commence on June 27 and are in addition to Belfast City, Dublin, Jersey, Geneva and Milan Bergamo, which started last week. Flights to Murcia, Malaga and Toulouse take off on May 19, which together with the airline's existing Guernsey services, will total 12 FlyBE. routes from Southampton this summer.
"Our positioning as Southampton's low fares airline has been met with phenomenal response," said FlyBE.'s General Manager, Market Development, Ian Taylor. "Passengers are asking us why no-one has offered these services before. This reaction, quantified by almost 150,000 bookings taken so far this year, has encouraged us to realise our plans to expand the Southampton
network earlier than first envisaged."
FlyBE. expects to carry 900,000 passengers in its first year of operation from the central southern airport, enabling Southampton's desire to surpass the one million-passenger mark sooner than anticipated.
David Cumming, Managing Director or BAA-owned Southampton Airport, commented: "This is a great Easter present for travellers in the region.
FlyBE. has firmly established its base here at Southampton Airport and has expanded its route network to 12 destinations. This will be the first time that travellers will be able to benefit from scheduled services to the holiday hot spots of Ibiza and Alicante plus direct services to the French
region of Dordogne with daily flights to Bergerac."
Speaking at the launch event on 31 March, FlyBE. Managing Director, Jim French, said that FlyBE. is looking to deliver more than 20 routes from Southampton over the next two years. The plan is part of the airline's wider strategy to rebalance its network to offer a 50/50 split with leisure and business routes. "There was no low fare airline serving the central
southern UK region with a catchment area embracing the south coast, south west, Thames Valley and south west London - this gave us the opportunity to create a winning formula," said French. "We are delighted at how the whole region has welcomed what we are doing," he added.
FlyBE. is Europe's largest independent regional airline with principal operating bases at Southampton, Belfast City, Birmingham and the Channel Islands. More than three million passengers will travel with FlyBE. this year.
FlyBE. becomes Southampton's No. 1!!
- announces new routes to Alicante, Ibiza and Bergerac -
Within just days of commencing new services out of Southampton, FlyBE., the low fares airline for the regions, has announced even more new routes, positioning it ahead of BA to become the airport's biggest carrier.
FlyBE. announced today (08 April 2003) that it is further expanding its Southampton hub with new daily flights to Alicante in Spain and Bergerac in France. The airline is also adding the Balearic island of Ibiza to its route network with a busy weekend schedule.
The new flights, with fares starting from just £29 (plus taxes and charges), will commence on June 27 and are in addition to Belfast City, Dublin, Jersey, Geneva and Milan Bergamo, which started last week. Flights to Murcia, Malaga and Toulouse take off on May 19, which together with the airline's existing Guernsey services, will total 12 FlyBE. routes from Southampton this summer.
"Our positioning as Southampton's low fares airline has been met with phenomenal response," said FlyBE.'s General Manager, Market Development, Ian Taylor. "Passengers are asking us why no-one has offered these services before. This reaction, quantified by almost 150,000 bookings taken so far this year, has encouraged us to realise our plans to expand the Southampton
network earlier than first envisaged."
FlyBE. expects to carry 900,000 passengers in its first year of operation from the central southern airport, enabling Southampton's desire to surpass the one million-passenger mark sooner than anticipated.
David Cumming, Managing Director or BAA-owned Southampton Airport, commented: "This is a great Easter present for travellers in the region.
FlyBE. has firmly established its base here at Southampton Airport and has expanded its route network to 12 destinations. This will be the first time that travellers will be able to benefit from scheduled services to the holiday hot spots of Ibiza and Alicante plus direct services to the French
region of Dordogne with daily flights to Bergerac."
Speaking at the launch event on 31 March, FlyBE. Managing Director, Jim French, said that FlyBE. is looking to deliver more than 20 routes from Southampton over the next two years. The plan is part of the airline's wider strategy to rebalance its network to offer a 50/50 split with leisure and business routes. "There was no low fare airline serving the central
southern UK region with a catchment area embracing the south coast, south west, Thames Valley and south west London - this gave us the opportunity to create a winning formula," said French. "We are delighted at how the whole region has welcomed what we are doing," he added.
FlyBE. is Europe's largest independent regional airline with principal operating bases at Southampton, Belfast City, Birmingham and the Channel Islands. More than three million passengers will travel with FlyBE. this year.
From where I live in West Berks (close to a large former USAF base that *had* a 10000' runway) , it's a 45 minute drive to SOU, against 1hr to LHR or 1hr+ to BRS (LGW, LTN and STN much further).
So, there's a big catchment area for Flybe at SOU (which no doubt Buzz's former business plans at BOH were based on aswell), so good luck to them.
One of SOU's major selling points is it's compactness (only a few yards to walk from Terminal entrance to a/c steps) - let's just hope that doesn't turn into crowdedness.
Are they increasing the fleet further to cope with all of this, or reducing the 146 charter programme this Summer (had quite a big one last year, AFAIK)??
So, there's a big catchment area for Flybe at SOU (which no doubt Buzz's former business plans at BOH were based on aswell), so good luck to them.
One of SOU's major selling points is it's compactness (only a few yards to walk from Terminal entrance to a/c steps) - let's just hope that doesn't turn into crowdedness.
Are they increasing the fleet further to cope with all of this, or reducing the 146 charter programme this Summer (had quite a big one last year, AFAIK)??
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I've got no idea how this airline manages to survive. They seem to chop and change their route network frequently. I know it seems like they have re-invented themselves as a low-cost airline but how can they be doing this with the aircraft they operate? I don't think many of the new routes will be around for very long. I hope I am wrong - I really do. They are just one of the industry's mysteries to me.
Anyone know for sure how their current financial situation is?
Anyone know for sure how their current financial situation is?
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flybe
Bit of a shambles for the first week as we (the handling agent) do not have enough staff or resources to handle the flights. Aparently BA also have new routes up their sleves but i have no idea where. Weekends will all of a sudden actually be busy which is not a bad thing as prior to flybe we had 2 departures at 1800 and that was it after 1200 on a saturday, give them their dues they're certainly monopolising on the schedules. As for the a/c i don't have a clue where thy are coming from and neither it would seem do the existing crews! JER route is proving interesting thursday there were 75 on flybe and 12 on BA 15 mins later!!! ho hum we shall see...............
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The story as I 've been told it is that Big Jim is 'in on-going negotiations' with Bomb on aquiring up to 20 Q400s these it has to be said have been going on for quite a long time - it seems there is a sticking point on the trade in of CRJs or some such thing. Another sticking point might be concerns about the longevity of the line (don't forget BE have already been stuffed by the RJX cancellation) the Q400 backlog is only about 17 or so...
Now Bomb will tell you and Big Jim will back it up, that the seat mile costs on a Q400 match those of a 733 or 738 which makes it possible for an operator to compete with LCAs. It's true that in the US, Horizon are using Q400s on so long routes (1,000nm or therabouts) and going head to head with Southwest resonably sucessfully
IMHO I reckon the choice of Soton was a good 'un, an extrodinarily large ABC1 catchment area with good road and rail links and geographically removed from the Low fare heartland at Luton and Stansted...
Now Bomb will tell you and Big Jim will back it up, that the seat mile costs on a Q400 match those of a 733 or 738 which makes it possible for an operator to compete with LCAs. It's true that in the US, Horizon are using Q400s on so long routes (1,000nm or therabouts) and going head to head with Southwest resonably sucessfully
IMHO I reckon the choice of Soton was a good 'un, an extrodinarily large ABC1 catchment area with good road and rail links and geographically removed from the Low fare heartland at Luton and Stansted...
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re...IMHO I reckon the choice of Soton was a good 'un, an extrodinarily large ABC1 catchment area with good road and rail links and geographically removed from the Low fare heartland at Luton and Stansted...
I hope Raynair (buzz) are watching what they could have done from Bournemouth.
I hope Raynair (buzz) are watching what they could have done from Bournemouth.
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The news of Flybe expanding services earlier than planned at SOU comes as no suprise. Sales on all routes seem to be well in excess of predictions. Apparently, sales so far on the Murcia route have already reached a level that was not anticipated until approx nine months after launch!
OSBO - Aircraft for new services will be supplied through the existing fleet. Flybe operates the Filton-Toulouse airbridge for BAe Systems using a 146. This contract is being renewed with PrivatAir shortly utilising one of their new A319's. Understandable I suppose.
DUNDONIAN - The myth that the 146 is expensive to operate should really have been dispelled by now. It is fair to say that 2 years ago a 146 could not come close to competing with a 737 on operating cost but things are very different now. Lease rates for the 146 have hit the floor over the past couple of years because of a very clear surplus in the market.
Air NewZealand parked it's aircraft at Melbourne following reduction in services. National Jet Italia went under and parked it's aircraft at Exeter, and more recently Ryanair's purchase of BUZZ, Aer Lingus' planned fleet rationalisation and SN Brussels and Crossairs plan to aquire newer RJ's will mean an excess of spare airframes available at very competitive lease rates.
It's very fair to say that Flybe. British European have been through a rough patch over the last two years, however losses have now been substantially reduced and a clear turnaround of the business has taken place.
They must be one of the few airlines to give a payrise this year and not make anyone redundant!!
Maybe things aren't 100% concentrated Orange
OSBO - Aircraft for new services will be supplied through the existing fleet. Flybe operates the Filton-Toulouse airbridge for BAe Systems using a 146. This contract is being renewed with PrivatAir shortly utilising one of their new A319's. Understandable I suppose.
DUNDONIAN - The myth that the 146 is expensive to operate should really have been dispelled by now. It is fair to say that 2 years ago a 146 could not come close to competing with a 737 on operating cost but things are very different now. Lease rates for the 146 have hit the floor over the past couple of years because of a very clear surplus in the market.
Air NewZealand parked it's aircraft at Melbourne following reduction in services. National Jet Italia went under and parked it's aircraft at Exeter, and more recently Ryanair's purchase of BUZZ, Aer Lingus' planned fleet rationalisation and SN Brussels and Crossairs plan to aquire newer RJ's will mean an excess of spare airframes available at very competitive lease rates.
It's very fair to say that Flybe. British European have been through a rough patch over the last two years, however losses have now been substantially reduced and a clear turnaround of the business has taken place.
They must be one of the few airlines to give a payrise this year and not make anyone redundant!!
Maybe things aren't 100% concentrated Orange
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dundoniandean - perhap's the reason that flybe do survive is the reason that they do chop and change their route's frequently in line with what the market want's - if a route prove's unpopular and non money making then what's the point in continueing to operate it and to lose money ??? - this has been the downfall of many other airlines in the past continueing to operate route's at a lose rather than getting rid of them and exploiting and exploring new oppurtunities as they come along.
I think that flybe are a very progressive airline - willing to explore new opputunities as they present themsleves rather than to stagnate and fail like some other's. It also goes to prove that the future is not allway's going to being orange.....
I think that flybe are a very progressive airline - willing to explore new opputunities as they present themsleves rather than to stagnate and fail like some other's. It also goes to prove that the future is not allway's going to being orange.....
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Jobs...............
Very well said! I can't believe people in the company are upset at a ?% payrise. As you so rightly say, at the moment flybe are one of the very few airlines that has what looks like a promising future regardless of international events.
Long may it continue.
Very well said! I can't believe people in the company are upset at a ?% payrise. As you so rightly say, at the moment flybe are one of the very few airlines that has what looks like a promising future regardless of international events.
Long may it continue.
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Unfortunately the current pay offer, which has been the first for four years now and not even a sniff of a rate of inflation rise;
( so read four years of pay cuts,) has been about as popular as a wasp in a condom !!!
Also it looks like that the EDI/GLA 146 may be "relocated" to SOU,
so those crews will have to either move base yet again or retrain on the D-8.
But then again they could always move "Zapo" down there instead, not sure how long the lease is for though .
The future is definately not orange.
Bit concerned about Air Superiority blue though !
( so read four years of pay cuts,) has been about as popular as a wasp in a condom !!!
Also it looks like that the EDI/GLA 146 may be "relocated" to SOU,
so those crews will have to either move base yet again or retrain on the D-8.
But then again they could always move "Zapo" down there instead, not sure how long the lease is for though .
The future is definately not orange.
Bit concerned about Air Superiority blue though !
Last edited by Smokie; 17th Apr 2003 at 05:45.
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Engage smug git mode:
Ref my earlier: It seems that the 'ongoing negotiations' have concluded. Yesterday, I got an invitation to a FlyBE/Bombardier press conf early next week concerning 'a major announcement'.
disengage smug git mode
Q400s anyone?
Ref my earlier: It seems that the 'ongoing negotiations' have concluded. Yesterday, I got an invitation to a FlyBE/Bombardier press conf early next week concerning 'a major announcement'.
disengage smug git mode
Q400s anyone?
Previous threads re. the BE expansion at SOU suggested that the Q400 *could* operate all the currently proposed routes, with block times only slightly longer than the quadrapuff, even on the longest ones (I guess AGP is the longest, timetabled at 2.45 in the 146).
The SOU-BGY is being done by the Q400, timetabled at 2.10, with the 146 on GVA & DUB at present.
Heavy bookings on the MJV route (refugees from Buzz, I guess) according to a recent BE press release....have to wonder how this will run with ALC coming on line in June, they are pretty close?
The SOU-BGY is being done by the Q400, timetabled at 2.10, with the 146 on GVA & DUB at present.
Heavy bookings on the MJV route (refugees from Buzz, I guess) according to a recent BE press release....have to wonder how this will run with ALC coming on line in June, they are pretty close?
