Flybe cancellations
 

Shortage of pilots, according to BBC's resident travel expert Simon Calder.

https://ukaviation.news/flybe-to-clo...-exeter-bases/

Sad news if true!

Flybe statement "Flybe sincerely apologises to all our customers and partners affected by the current flight cancellations. Whilst 95% of Flybe flights are operating as per normal, we do recognize the impact of today’s cancellations.

"We are doing our best to mitigate the impact of the current situation that has arisen due to a combination of factors including seasonality, pilots’ end of leave year, Easter holidays, base restructuring and the shortage of pilots across the industry that Flybe has highlighted over recent months.

"We have already identified several mitigation actions and will be issuing further updates throughout the day.

Not helped by suspending a Captain for telling them how it is?

In the week that FlyBe have started a four times daily service from Newquay to Heathrow this is ominous news. Cornwall has a painfully slow rail service to London, and it really needs this new link. Hope it wont be affected

It was affected on Sunday evening (first day of ops) when the Q400 went u/s at NQY and pax were offered re-booking or a 6hr bus-ride to LHR.

Good luck with getting any EU261 compensation from out of FlyBE. I had to use legal assistance (<-- click link) to get FlyBE to cough up the compensation money that they owed to me and, as a result of legal fees, I therein received a reduced amount. FlyBE's shoddy business practices along with its interactions with its customers are disgraceful, thus I'm not surprised that they're in the !!!!.

95% of FlyBe flights are operating? That includes all codesharing then I suppose, as I have seen hardly any movements from Southampton today and know this isn't the only base severely affected.

Rather than tell the truth they hide behind the idea this mess is all caused by a pilot shortage. I’d like them to publish the total number of resignations over the last 6 months and reasons given. Speaking to crew yesterday their roster sounds horrific and the pay not much better.

Seems like they need a fundamental change in their approach to their operation.

Cant say i agree at all about the pay or the company treatment, Pay for what you are doing is very good (regional turboprop flying) significantly higher than others doing similar flying (Eastern, Logan, Stobart etc) They work you hard that is for sure, but as many who have recently left for "greener grass" will soon find out its no change everyone does!

Flybe isn't perfect, but there are a tonne of worse places out there

What will be interesting to observe, and maybe provide a clue as to the real situation of the whole business, is what is happening with the Exeter-based engineering and its outside contracts; is it contributing financially, or draining financial resources?

The same with training...................

The current top management is unimpressive, to put it mildly, with the all too common detachment from the operation and belief that manipulating numbers equals managing a business.. It'll take more than a spreadsheet to restore Flybe's health. Knowledge, airline experience, leadership and flair are needed, but are not to be found in Flybe's present management.

It's all rather sad, thinking back to the day when Jack Walker, in Jersey, agreed to base his 2 new toys in Exeter as the embryo, fertilised by his mountain of cash from selling Walker Steel, of a new regional airline for the UK.

Well, if there is a plan, Stobart Air will be mightily relieved. It was due to commence flights in July last year from its new-build Carlisle-Lake District Airport, but then everything was cancelled almost on eve-of-departure because of "a shortage of Air Traffic Controllers". The schedule was put back to September. . . but then cancelled in August, again due to ATC shortage. Now Stobart has bought into Flybe and, guess what? There's another shortage, this time of pilots. Sometimes, it seems, you just can't win. Hopefully Loganair is better organised, seeing as how its flights are due to begin with the 'official' opening of Carlisle airport in three months' time. . .

It's a case of "Watch This Space".
One thing I do know - if Branson's involved it'll mean swift change, upped game and brand new outlooks. No, I don't work for him now but I've worked with him in the past. This is a controlled descent in to terrain before something else happens and "magically takes to the wing amidst a glitzy shower of publicity and press, blah,blah, blah."
Boring as hell and frustrating for those colleagues and friends who are trying to quietly make a living doing this flying stuff.