While I agree the 4th daily rotation to BHD can obviously only be good news, some caution must be shown on the route portfolio as a whole out of LCY. Yes 60 pax average would be encouraging however yield is king, how much did those pax pay , what charging structure do BE have in place at LCY. We don't know the answers to these questions and we won't find out until the routes flourish or indeed fail. I wish them all the best, but long term success at LCY on most of their routes will be quite an achievement!

Yes this is exactly right yield is the main thing, but so even if it is 60 pax they still may not be making the money they need altough I feel unlikely

MD of NQY just announced on radio that a batch of new routes will be announced best week and these will be daily return flights to airports to allow connectivity above and beyond the existing route network.

This can only be referring to flybe considering the currently released schedules would suggest 3 aircraft NQY based for summer 15


cs

A320
 

Im also hearing the Flybe will announce some sun routes using an A320 poss Aer Lingus ex Little Red

That could be an interesting move, and not too far fetched given Flybe's recent relationship with Aer Lingus. Could an A320 do SOU-AGP/FAO with a full load of passengers & bags?

A320
 

The answer is 'Yes' it can. I flew Iberworld A320 from SOU to PMI two summers in a row. No problems with performance. Also no probs for A319 or B757.

If Aer Lingus A320 is correct then surly it would be BHX based and would deliver a competitive cost base to take on FR/ZB/TOM/TCX.

I guess SOU could feature.

I'm aware that PMI was fine as I was on a flight when Spanair flew it a few years ago, was just wondering if the likes of FAO (~2hrs 40 vs ~2hrs 10 block time) would also be problem free. I would think the A320's would be spread across BHX, SOU and EXT as they are the three bases where sun routes have operated from in the last year.

Renting an Aer Lingus A320 to do low cost sun routes? OK Flybe really have lost it if this is not just a rumour!

I thought they just told the market that they are going back to basics and focusing on developing their niche UK services which is where they are making money. To blow it all away on leasing in Aer Lingus 320's would be crazy especially when considering how late In the season it is to start selling 180 seats for next summer. EZY and FR are sure to respond to this if it's true.

completely agree sharklet_321 good post :D

Do you really think Flybe would lease a 320 if it's going to cosy an arm and a leg and go into it with their eyes shut? People on here need to get with the real world. At the very least maybe you can post your business credentials so we can compare them with the Flybe top brass and verify you are qualified to comment. Seriously guys.

1 - EI 320s have 174 seats

2 - If they can fill 100 seats already with high fares and a high cost base and FR and EZY don't care then why would they respond to this. They don't even operate to SOU, EXT, while EZY don't serve BHX and FR are pulling an aircraft.

3 - To late of next summer, seriously? Airlines have very very low forward bookings for next summer. Its Xmas/NY period when bookings happen in volumes.

A large amount of summer sun flights get sold over Christmas and new year and early January, so it is not late at all.

BE added capacity last year ex BHX for e.g. on routes where there were gaps in capacity and demand. Flying 175 etc. They see a demand.

I think we could very well see EI on these tracks ... as I suggested last week.

EI-BUD

Deano777

I take your point about BEE's commercial decisions. But, wasn't it their "Commercial Decisions" that got them into trouble the last time round ?

Please can everybody instead of making such ill informed and negativr comments take the trouble to read the presentations on the Investor Relations page of the Flybe website

kcockayne. No it wasn't. The current senior management team have never got Flybe into trouble. Ask yourself this: if it's too expensive to operate an E195 on the sun routes do you REALLY think they'll lease a 320 for the same cost or more than what it cost to operate those 195s? Seriously?

It was rumoured that the lease rates of the E195's were not particularly good, to the point where they could have leased A319's for less, so paying the same sort of money for an A320 with a better CASM (can anyone confirm this?) and more seats may not seem like such a bad idea, assuming most importantly that they can fill them in a profitable manner on the sun routes. Of course, this is all speculation so I guess we will all have to see how things pan out on 9th December.

adfly, yes that was the rumour doing the rounds some time ago. I am not sure if it was just conjecture or fact. The point is Flybe simply will not lease a 321/20/19 or any other airbus variant if the sums don't add up. This is the very reason the 195s were pulled off the route in the first place. If we can make money by leasing an Aer Lingus 320 and placing them on the sun routes, then that's what we'll do.

The rental costs for the E195's are listed in the most recent Investor presentation published on the Flybe website. clearly people are not interested in determining facts and prefer
fantasy based speculation:ugh:
By the way, the presentation which nobody is bothering to read states that forty out of fifty senior managers have been replaced.
Never let the facts get in the way of a good fantasy-Sorry: story