If anyone from Flybe is reading this , please Sir, could you start doing Exeter to Brussels?

GROUNDHOG

Having read a little of your background in another thread, I value your views on matters like this.

The loads on the 3 x weekday, 2 x Sunday, BRS-BRU, SN Brussels ARJ 85s don't set the world alight - typically 4,000-6,000 a month, depending on season.

They seem to have been thus for a long time, so presumably the relatively high fares charged make the route worth doing.

However, with Belgium having limited popularity for people in the UK, would Flybe's strategy of low cost fares work on such a route, bearing in mind the likely number of punters?

I would have thought that AMS, even with their 'uneasyJet' charges, might be a better option from EXT.

Any thoughts?

Merchant Venturer.

I hear that FLYBE are desperate for Dash-8 qualified peeps to shoot over to Downsview for a quick conversion.....I know of someone that was told he could start 24 hrs later if required.....

First 737 for Astraeus/Flybe is an ex Aegean aircraft due end of month.

Good news for the Paris base. The company are in talks with Air France about internal routes. I don't know much more but it's looking promising that something might come out of a bad situation.

And what would internal french flights have to do with Air France then? Any EU airline can fly anywhere in the EU,and stick two fingers up to AF! (Now slots------that could be well controlled by AF--on the quiet of course!)

Can't say I've read of of a Paris base however.

Also just read G-JEBV is at Norwich for painting,so guess corrosion is no more.

And first 737-33A is G-STRI c/n 25011 ex SX-BBT (Aegean),to be operated in full Flybe colours.
Second is 737-36N G-STRE,also to be painted into full Flybe scheme at SNN.

'BV' may be in for paint but it still has a heavy maintenance check to be done I believe and that'll be when the worm can is opened.

Well ,they're hardly going to paint it first before the check! I suspect that the corrosion work is already complete. It has been out of service for some time,surely this would have been looked at to decide its fate then.

Oshkosh George,

I'm guessing your knowledge of flybe is somewhat limited!
There were once three french flybe bases, Lyon, Toulouse and Paris CDG. These bases were set up to operate routes on behalf of Air France on a franchise basis to many destinations in Europe at one time, but more recently this has shrunk down to just the CDG-BHX flights. The AF franchise contract ends at the end of this month, leaving the rest of the french flybe staff in CDG with no flights to fly! Therefore it is good news that once again flybe may be operating EU routes out of CDG on behalf of AF - securing the jobs of our colleagues in Paris.

Tri:ok:

Hi Merchant Venturer..

Probably not but my daughter lives in Brussels so I am being selfish!!!

Keep well

CDG
 

Tri,
why would AF give internal routes to flybe, when they already got CityJet?

Don't be silly. Nobody spends huge piles of money on painting an aircraft if there are serious corrosion issues - the corrosion is either not an issue, or a repair schedule has already been agreed with BAe. Why paint an aircraft whose next destination is the scrap heap?

Trislander
 

Well,Hudson Bay never mentioned INTERNATIONAL flights,he said INTERNAL,AND he never mentioned FRANCHISE either. Flybe are quite at liberty to fly their own internal flights,without begging to Air France.

Must admit though,didn't know Paris was a base,thought it would be BHX. Apologies there.

I guess it's already known that Cityjet take over the BHX-CDG from the end of this month.

Would a presence at CDG also open up more links there from the UK?

Would they be offering onward connections with AF? And does the AF-KL link up make this a possible at AMS too? Surely BE could fill their '400s much more easily than KL could fill their Fokkers?

Consider CDG and/or AMS from:

CDG:

NWI - rumoured CDG announcement later in summer?
BHD - does it have ability for international ops?
GLA - could someone sort this at last?
BHX - no true loco presence on this route (TOM just up the road though).
EDI - also two "high fare" operators at present.
ABZ - new base?
JER - give the CIs a proper hub link?

AMS:

EXT
ABZ - new base?
BHD - as per above?

The biggest stumbling block to CDG ops is the slot problem,which is probably why they like the AF franchise option(AF having lots of them). But that kind of leaves out the ones that Cityjet or AF do now,unless Flybe are looking to replace these(not much chance)

Not up on AMS ops,slots there too?

If Flybe operated flights to/from AMS to/from some UK airports on their own behalf (assuming slots are no problem) would their low cost philosophy work on that route?

easyJet cut back on their flights into AMS last year because of what they regarded as too high charges.

If they were too high for easyJet would they not be too high for Flybe, on the basis that BE would be unlikely to be able to negotiate lower charges than easyJet? Or would Flybe's smaller aircraft (than easyJet's) be an advantage to them when it came to airport charges?

MV
Ezy dropped GLA-AMS supposedly due to GLA's charges,not AMS's,they still operate EDI-AMS. So the problem is not the charges at AMS. Though quite how much difference there is between two BAA airports is difficult to understand.

Easyjet dropped some European routes because of fees at AMS though. Think it was Geneva and Nice

Actually EZY dropped NCE and BCN. GVA is still well alive with two daily flights to AMS.

On 23 September 2004 easyJet announced a Trading Update, part of which included the following passage.

Since the beginning of August, easyJet has announced 16 new routes and 9 new destinations, cut Zurich and reduced capacity to Copenhagen and Amsterdam as part of an ongoing programme to drive down costs.

Rotations were reduced from BRS, LPL and LTN to AMS from the start of the winter period, despite very high loads, and AMS charges were certainly part of the thinking behind this.

At CPH the problem was the Danish government that demanded an unrealistic (to easyJet) fee per passenger.

Since when have easyJet stopped flying GLA-AMS????

Regards

Mike

You're right Mike,but they had more than one a day,didn't they?

This thread seems to be going off topic,sorry!

Hi

is there any news of potential French routes out of Leeds Bradford. The airport is currently asking for route ideas/requests and stating it is for flybe.

Jabird I noticed while travelling through BHD last week that they are
having some development working in their arrivals hall. As it turns
out they are having a permanent customs channel installed.

In terms of what Jabird asked as to whether BHD has the facilites for international ops, its appears that they are working towards improving them. (Does anyone know more about these developments ?)

I would say that if Flybe are considering routes to BHD from AMS and CDG that some of the costs could be reduced as the routes may fall under the criteria to receive funding from the "NI Air Route Development Fund"

EZY do already serve these routes from BFS so its a question as to whether the routes have sufficent demand for competition from both airports.

BHD does have the ability to operate international routes - Flybe currently operate weekly ski charters to both Salzburg and Chambery with Q400s and 146s respectively. Astraeus will be operating a programme in July & August with charters to Malaga & Alicante using 733s.

This and the current service to ORK would probably explain the requirement for permanent customs facilities.

The initial Air Route Development funding has been exhausted and a further allocation has been requested.

Astraeus/FlyBe 73's at the City ? Yeah Right!
Could have swore the contracts were to operate out of BHX & EXT.:*

The Astraeus 73`s FlyBe will use will be in Bhd crew training before the end of March. Don`t know who`s operating the 73`s to Malaga and Alicante though I thought it was Futura.

As far as I'm aware none of the FlyBe Crews doing the 73 Conversion are BHD Based.:confused:

Smokie, yeah I think you`re spot on there but I suppose they`ll want to fly some training approaches at the City as I believe they are gonna be fairly regular visitors on the Bhx route, think it`s 24th and 25th.

So now you are suggesting a 73 on the BHD - BHX route?
What ever happened to JF's Aeronautical Love Tube as Advertised by Bombardier? The Saviour of FlyBe............:zzz:

Smokie, you misunderstand. The flights from Belfast City to Malaga are normal Astraeus charters under its own operations. Surely we can do that if we wish?!!

Regardin Flybe in France- in one important french airline-forum there is question if Flybe will ever conduct french-domestic business as sub-contractor for Air France ...
Any clue wheather this is feasable ?

FlyBe to operate Domestic flights in France ?

Not for me to doubt, etc......and assume they have done/will do their homework correctly, etc.....but history is littered with companies of all sizes and from all industries who have found this country to be a graveyard for foreign investors.

In our line of business, think of BA and Swissair who both lost more than their shirts trying with TAT/Air Lib/AOM....and the shortlived effort by Buzz a couple of years ago to operate domestic routes here.....look at the hoops that the many and various authorities have ( officially and unofficially ) put up in the past ( eg, the BA dispute regarding Orly some years ago ) and
currently ( eg, easyJet's difficulty in getting slots when there are still, officially, several thousands still available ) and you'll get the idea.....

Quite simply, AF have a total stranglehold either directly or indirectly on anything even remotely connected with Air Transport in France, and if it doesn't suit them, then the best advice is to forget any plans you may have to enter the market here, no matter how good they look on your Development or Marketing peoples' PC's.....

In fact, my retirement fund currently consists of little more than, hopefully lucrative, plans to write a book entitled " Investing in France - or how to lose your shirt " when I'm eventually able to spend more time on the ground than at the moment.

But back to FlyBe.......

Does anyone care to comment or shed some light on the current bolloc*s which appears to be developing with the imminent closure of the AF BHX - CDG route ? No underhand reason - just some acquaintences and friends who are having their lives buggered about right now as the company seems to be more than a little economical with the truth....

Numerous cancellations/consolidations/equipment changes the past few months - most explained as crew shortages; all staff involved being told one thing about the future one day and another thing the next ; heavy sickness call-ins from ( justifiably ! ) disaffected cabin crew ; and FO's being told that Command Courses or Conversion Courses would start this/next month and then 24 hours later being told they're cancelled.

The numbers shouldn't lie, and FlyBe is reporting good profits for last year - based on the info I have been told and have seen, and the earlier parts of this thread, any bets on this year's numbers ?

On the other hand, if FlyBe were to offer an internal service which complemented AF, they might even be welcomed.

The good news is the RJ's are back on. They are badly corroded but the news today from Aviation services is that they can be repaired at an acceptable cost. The Aircraft will be arriving late but they will arrive. Don't ask me when.

There should be some news out later today about CDG. Management are holding a meeting at BHX to discuss a way forward.

It seems that Flybe have upgraded the LPL- EDI route which starts 27th March from a Dash 8 to a 146-200.

Any idea what they are running the Birmingham to Murcia route on this summer?.

I asked on here a few months ago and someone mentioned a 737.

at the moment murcia route is down to operate on 737

Thanks for that True Manxman,

We are booked to go with them this summer.

Feel a bit of a traitor as a bmi employee, but price and schedulewise Flybe offered us the best deal.

Hussar 54

Sadly, one of the hallmarks of flybe has always been that, although they have survived and prospered, they have always been very hard on their staff. It would take more than a few hands to count up all those who have left as a result of being stuffed about with enforced base changes, endless HOTAC and the like. The official line from the top, as relayed at base "kickstart" meetings, was "if you don't like it, there's the door".

Many of us used it.

Most LCC's have been quick to adopt the financial model of the grandaddy of them all, Southwest. What they haven't done is take on board Southwest's commitment to their staff. Southwest have made many millions on the back of a happy and satisfied workforce who cheerfully go the extra mile, because they know the company will look after them. Most Euro copies, including flybe, have no practical concept of caring for, and motivating, their workforce.

I hate to think how much money it has cost them in lost productivity, and the cost of retraining new guys to replace all the disenchanted ones who have left.

A great place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there... :p