FlyBE to close NCL Base?

[transwede]

FlyBE have just announced that they are to reduce frequency on NCL-CDG route from 3 to once daily and withdrawing based 146 aicraft. IOM route to be dropped and Belfast City routes to be scrapped! Is this the end of FlyBe at NCL?

[Flightrider]

Given that that's all they do from NCL, I'd say it rather looks like it, wouldn't you?

[ALLMCC]

agree does seem to suggest Flybe succumbing to competition - always wondered how Easyjets' service to BFS was performing against Flybe's to BHD - I was led to believe that Flybe was holding its own in terms of load factors mainly because it uses a DHC8 as opposed to B737.

Maybe the proposed developments at MME were a factor as well.

[10 DME ARC]

TWE


I understood that the CDG was going over to City Jet, the IOM was going but with Eastern picking up the route, but the Harbour was remaining?

[eastern wiseguy]

EasyJet figures are very healthy ON ALL BFS routes....competition is something that FlyBe don't seem handle too well. A programme on BBC the other evening suggested that ultimately there would be room for only three low cost carriers in UK/Ireland.We have seen Go swallowed up......Buzz gone......who's next?

[Waveman]

The NCL based Dash & Belfast routes are still going strong with a Q400 on the route next year. Mid week the Dash has been known to have more pax than Easy's 73. Weekends they're all full.

['PlaneHappy]

"I understood that the CDG was going over to City Jet."

I heard that, too.

[JKP505]

To be honest, FlyBe have been an utter disappointment at NCL. I wouldn't describe the airline having a base at the airport, considering the CDG flights are in AF colours, JER is served once a week and IOM only via BHD. Considering BA left NCL up the spout, domestically I would have expected BE to take over the BHX and SOU routes, internationally, we could have held a flight to AGP and BGY. BE? no miss really...

Eastern has potential to become a big airline at NCL, especially with larger a/c. Also, I wonder if this may accelerate EZY plans to set up a substantial base? Where are the FR flights to HHN, and are Cimber Air starting services to NCL?

[Flightrider]

JKP505 - I would have thought that if those routes would be profitable for the operators in question, they would have a go at them. It is all very well spouting about what a disappointment "x" is and why haven't we got "y" but you don't seem to realise that airlines are businesses and not registered charities.

Whether you like it or not, the management of those businesses take their own decisions. You say that Newcastle could hold a flight to BGY. You evidently don't know that BGY is a nightmare for at least two UK low fare carriers operating there - low yields AND poor pax volumes. Yet you expect someone to have a go? No thanks.

Rant over and returning back to the topic, has anyone else heard rumours of FlyBe and Air France going through a planned divorce, of which NCL-CDG going to CityJet is only a small part?

[redfield]

BE seem to be all over there forums at the moment! Rumours of the NCL base to close and a new base at BRS opening up....are they simply transferring the a/c to BRS? Surprised if the BHD route is dropped though - the BHD-BRS performs well despite Easy's route to BFS (which is Easy's lowest yield route out of BRS). No doubt rumours will change to facts in the near future, they usually do!