GW76

No, they picked up on the story from BE clearly though.

GoEDI

Certainly mention of NQY-EDI but nothing on EDI-NQY

Given that it is effectively the same route I think we can safely assume they are referring to the route as a whole and not just one leg of it, particularly as bookings on EDI-NQY appear stronger than bookings on NQY-EDI.

Wheres the source for that ?
( I hope its not just the unreliable technique of punching in 40+ people on the booking engine)

A higher price indicates higher bookings, not only that but the full flights tend to be on the EDI-NQY leg. Although that is primarily down to school holidays.

Not strictly true. Airlines pre-empt what they expect to be higher bookings. On the day World Cup fixtures were announced BA and EZY flight prices went up, a similar situation ( high publicised) occurred when a Scottish Football team was to play in Spain- the low cost airlines were attacked for putting their prices up on those specific days. Although commonly the case, higher prices do not necessarily mean definite higher bookings and cannot be accurately used to judge load figures.

It is certainly not a way for accurately judging load factors, I still think it can be used to give a rough idea though.

Sat 08 Jul 2006
Depart 14:25
Arrive 16:00 £ 111.89

Sat 08 Jul 2006
Depart 16:25
Arrive 18:00 £ 36.89


That's for EDI-NQY-EDI, and I think it would be safe to assume that bookings on EDI-NQY are stronger.

Given most flights are "close to being full" you would think they would extend the service from a limited June-Sept service with only 3 flights a week.

I'd imagine NQY is a highly seasonal route from Scotland. It's primarily a leisure route so while Cornwall is a popular place to visit in the summer, demand must really tail off in the winter.

Don't forget that BMI are also starting 4 x daily come end of October. Saturation isn't strong enough a term to describe this. :hmm:

If Flybe are doing this, you can bet your bottom dollar that it is because they do not want bmi regional getting established in any shape or form at Southampton. I wondered if this might happen.

I'm not too sure that Flybe are overly concerned about Scot or BMI Regional...... if Flybe do come onto this route then neither of the others will be able to compete on price if the Q400 is used.

The substantially lower operating costs of the Q400 when comparing this to the ERJ145 will surely mean that if BMI compete on price, they will lose considerable amounts of cash on this service. You also have considerable connecting traffic (eg) ex JER/GCI that Flybe can tap into.

The only way that BMI could make SOUAMS pay would be for them to get an interline agreement and codeshare with KLM. This might enable them to operate profitably, but they'd have to get this off Scot first. Who knows?

Will BMI on SOUAMS go the same way as EDIMUC and LTNBRU?

The Q400 may be very popular with the bean counters but I am sure if you parked a jet next to a Q400 and let the pax choose I am sure that to a man they would opt for the jet. If BMI can post competitive fares then Flybe wouldn't get a look in with a Q400!

But they won't be able to, without losing an awful lot of money! Passengers in Europe are unlike American travellers and as such do not have the excessant love affair with small 50 seat jets.

Park the EMB145 next to a Q400 and you're right, most people will pick the jet, however show them the respective prices charged and they'll pick the Q400 everytime. Cost is key, to the airlines and also to the passengers that fly them! They will go for the lowest price!

The only problem is that BMI only need to & are capable of taking initial losses for longer than Flybe can. After the initial scrap Flybe will surrender the route as they can't sustain the losses. This is all assuming the Q400 hasn't gone tech & the flight has been canx

He He! It's getting better...honest!:ok:

Flybe on SOU-AMS
 

Reference Liquid Sunshine post,
I have no idea where you are coming from.
Flybe make money. BMI according to Lufthansa and SAS (covered in other forums) lose large amounts of money. They should know they cover the losses.
Flybe grow route markets to two to three times their current size when they compete against legacy carriers like BMI Regional. Why because their cost structure is 30-35% less. When was the last time regional did that against a loco.
If Flybe join the SOU-AMS fight,they will be the only winner.

I completely agree with uncovered.

The Jet vs prop argumenyt just doesn't stand up. Look at BA and BE competing on the GLA sectors for example, BE carries waaaaay more pax than BA does on the route.

Regards

Mike

I doubt if you'll find an airline with a lower cost structure than bmi regional. It's run from a rented annex in a hangar at Aberdeen. The crews self position in hire cars and take a packed lunch to work. You must be confusing it with bmi mainline - a different airline/management/AOC.
Unless I've missed something Flybe don't operate SOUAMS and haven't announced an intention to do so?

Flybe 3/6/05
 

Whats the prob at Ext today?? Flight left for Guernsey on time at 2pm now has a departing time from GCI of 2045!!!!