Flybe announce new routes & 737s from BHX
 

Just had an email from Flybe saying they're starting 7 new routes in March, all seem to be in competition with bmibaby & MyTravellite, mainly to Spain and Portugal etc.

Also, they're serving these routes with 2 Boeing 737-300's!

Where are they sourcing these from I wonder??? Its going to get messy at BHX next Summer!

Flybe announce 7 new routes from BHX with 737's
 

Just hot off the press form the Flybe website.


"Flybe. announces 7 new routes, 430,000 extra seats at Birmingham International Airport
25th October 2004
Flybe., Europe’s third largest low cost airline today announces seven new European routes from Birmingham International Airport, adding 430,000 seats into the market, taking its total seat capacity at Birmingham to two million seats. This consolidates flybe’s position as Birmingham’s largest single scheduled carrier.

Simultaneously flybe. is announcing that it will deploy its first ever 150 seat jet capacity – Boeing 737-300’s – to fly these routes from Birmingham. This confirms Birmingham as a major centre of operation for flybe.

Flybe. will offer these new services from Birmingham to Alicante, Malaga, Murcia, Faro, Palma, Almeria and Geneva. With prices starting from £39 all inclusive, tickets are on sale today at www.flybe.com (except Geneva which will be on sale in late June 2005). Flights to Spain and Portugal begin in March 2005.

The new routes follow hot on the heels of flybe.’s recent announcement of new French routes, and the addition of Liverpool John Lennon airport to its network of UK bases. This follows flybe.’s most successful year to date with the recent announcement of provisional profit figures for the financial year 2003/2004 of £3.1m.

Flybe.’s move is part of its ongoing commitment to providing an unrivalled low cost airline service to all the major regional population centres of the UK. The Midlands is a buoyant regional economy which flybe. expansion should help to grow further. Flybe. thanks Birmingham International Airport and the wider Midlands business community for the work done to aid with its aggressive expansion plans in the region.

The launch of the new routes out of Birmingham are part of flybe.’s ambitious summer schedule for 2005/6 which will be announced later this year and forms part of the airline’s overall strategy of continued investment and expansion of both its domestic and international route network.

More…
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Mike Rutter, Sales and Marketing Director, flybe., commented: ‘Opening up the gateway to Europe for flyers in the Midlands has always been a priority for us, and we are delighted to announce our plans today. It’s good news for the local economy, and also a great new way for people in the Midlands to access mainland Europe for business or leisure. Whilst many of our competitors are route cutting and retrenching back to London, flybe. is expanding in the regions and is committed to bringing flights to your door.

‘As a result of these announcements CBI figures suggest that 430 jobs will be created in the Midlands economy, of which 25 will be created directly at flybe.’

Flybe. has always been committed to Birmingham and the Midlands, which is witnessed by its recent announcement of the largest sports sponsorship deal in Midlands history as it extended its deal as major club sponsor with Birmingham City, by a further two years to 2007.

‘With Birmingham now fully integrated into flybe.’s European network we’re going to be looking at adding more routes and more capacity over time – increased competition in the marketplace can only be good news for travellers from the Midlands. Flybe. will seek to add up to a further three 737’s over the next 24 months.

‘Birmingham International Airport has made this partnership possible, and we would like to acknowledge the efforts made by the BIA business development team to make these routes possible.’

Peter Vella, BIA’s Business Development Director said, “Flybe. has been an important part of the Airport’s development and success over the past 10 years and we are therefore delighted that it has decided to expand its Birmingham base in this way. The news not only demonstrates confidence in BIA, but also in the region, helping to create new jobs, support inward tourism, and offer Midlands' business and leisure travellers even more choice from Birmingham."

The email says 2 brand new 737s!!

WT

As the Flybe website says "737-300's" I think we can safely assume they are not "brand" new!

New to Flybe, yes. Brand new, I doubt it!

If they're 300s, can they be new? - thought all new 737s were now NG 600/700/800 etc.

Can they be operated by FLYBE if they will only add 25 new jobs to the Birmingham area?

Where are these "430 jobs" supposed to be?
 

Anyone able to point me to the "CBI figures suggesting that 430 jobs will be created"?

I can understand what the job-creation reasoning could be. Route Development Funds (I'll take the one in Scotland, run by Scottish Enterprise, as an example) pay out based on the expected economic benefit (including jobs) of new air routes. Typically that means either inbound leisure routes (tourists coming to Scotland and spending their euros etc) or business routes (2-way business flows, more contracts for Scottish business, etc.) Routes which are almost all outbound leisure (e.g. Malaga, Alicante) don't qualify for route-development funding because they have no economic benefit for Scotland.

Ditto for BHX. How exactly does a Birmingham-Malaga (not even a new route, but one in competition with MyTravelLite for as long as they keep it up, and then with bmibaby) create new jobs in the Midlands (other than the 25 new direct jobs in flyBE to crew the aircraft)?

I can't believe that the CBI has done a specific analysis of the economic impact of these particular flyBE routes, so is flyBE telling porkies? :confused:

This is the kind of voodoo economics I expect from a Ryanair press statement! :sad:

330-Purser, in my defence the email they sent says "brand new" but the press release on the website says "scratty auld 300s" (or words to that effect).

WT

flybe takes B733's
 

Just saw this on flybe's website...

Flybe takes Boeing 737-300's to launch sunshine destinations from Birmingham to 7 destinations.

What the hell are they playing at!?

They DID have a good thing going but now i just think they're gonna blow themselves outa the water with this rash move.

Jet

can you explain why this is a rash decision?? I think Flybe will easily fill a 733 from Birmingham to destinations in Spain and Portugal. I also think that there is probably enough demand to justify larger aircraft at their other bases such as SOU and EXT to do trips to places such as Malaga, Alicante, Murcia and Faro.

Would there be some domestic routes ex BHX which might need 150 seat capacity at times?

It also says on the website that the aircraft are 'brand new'!!

Impossible if they are using 733 methinks:confused:

Got to love their marketing department!:O

Looks like there's going to be quite a scrap at BHX. So much for Flybe/Baby merger on previous sites!

Not too sure how many 733s are available but I would guess there are not too many of the younger ones free. Hope they don't get old knackered A/C that keep going tech!

IMHO this will take Fybe out of its niche and into competition for survival with Baby, Jet2, Mytravellite, Eujet, etc.

....don't EZY have some of the last 733's built? Aren't they replacing them with NG's and 319's?

Ah.... we were just contemplating today where the 33V's were going to.

I don't know where the FlyBe aircraft are coming from but had it confirmed at work over the weekend that here at Baby we are to get some ex Ryanair/Buzz 737-300 aircraft in November I just hope they are alot more reliable than the last two we got off GB
Airways we have had numerous tech problems with
.Also in February we are to get some ex Easyjet 737-300s the same applies we hope its some of the most recent aircraft and not the ex Go aircraft

That would be a surprising move for FlyBe - subsidising Jet2 / Channex to compete with them on Leeds-Belfast?

I'm hearing Astraeus is the likely provider.

There is no distinction... any new route gets discounted landing fees.

And... it is not 'run by Scottish Enterprise', it is a Scottish Executive initiative.

B733's from
 

I reckon the following are on the final shortlist to provide:

Chanex
Astraeus
Islandsflug

:D