Flybe in trouble ?

[FL370 Officeboy]

For those championing the train and how it will be the death knell for domestic flying - that won't happen until such time trains route direct from the cities to the hub airports. It doesn't matter how fast HS2 is from the north to London, no-one is going to lug their bags across London when they can just check their bags in at MAN / NCL / EDI / GLA and connect through the hub to a longhaul flight. Point to point domestic flying is not why BA (and in future VIrgin Connect) operate domestic flights.

[Flyingfisher]

I know a lot of people that have worked there in the past and present and and have the greatest respect for all the workers and the business model they tried to implement. However is there really a market for an independent regional airline any longer. Only the large airlines who wet lease the regional routes to smaller airline seem to work for both.Surely it is time for the new owners to fund the airline they purchased a few months ago to get through the winter period not the government or will we see what government policy will be post brexit even before Brexit happens.
A really sad day for all airline staff.

[Mister Geezer]

It will also not be an easy time for those staff at airlines that are dependant on the Flybe brand, such as franchise partners Eastern and Blue Islands. Furthermore, there will be some airport operators that will no doubt be nervous at the thought of their major airline ceasing to trade. The vast majority of flights at Southampton are operated by Flybe, so the wider implications could be significant.

[Tinwald]

'The BEE return fare is in excess of £300' ..another reason they deserve to go bust. My girl did a return to Miami a few weeks ago for £435 with BA and no, she didn't book 3 months ahead. Flybe need to recalibrate there seating policies and actually attract custom -0 now that would be a novelty.

[AirportPlanner1]

Originally Posted by Atlantic Explorer

little wonder they’re in the financial mire with prices like that.

To be fair a considerably larger Irish airline has seats on sale tomorrow for 9.99.

[Nil by mouth]

In my post #10 I highlighted road rail vs. fly in Spain.
In July last year I flew into Bristol from Gibraltar (EasyJet £39 from memory) to collect a car from Newquay
The cost from BRS to NQY was around £200 for a two stop nine hour journey. One of the legs was with Flybe
I went with National express from Bristol to Newquay (Wadebridge) for about £25 that took just under five hours.

[RoyHudd]

Some very stupid postings above. BE do not "deserve to go bust" because of some high fares. Perhaps Tinwald's company deserve to go bust for some arbitrary reason. Not nice for employees to read.

As for the idiot who cites unfeasible routings like BRS-NQY being expensive, he/she needs to shut up. Imagine how much a LGW-LHR costs by air, (via say GLA) compared to the bus fare?

And they and others are unable to spell. Or identify an airline...BEE? Dear God.

[Chris the Robot]

Originally Posted by FL370 Officeboy

For those championing the train and how it will be the death knell for domestic flying - that won't happen until such time trains route direct from the cities to the hub airports. It doesn't matter how fast HS2 is from the north to London, no-one is going to lug their bags across London when they can just check their bags in at MAN / NCL / EDI / GLA and connect through the hub to a longhaul flight. Point to point domestic flying is not why BA (and in future VIrgin Connect) operate domestic flights.

About 15 years ago, my family and I dropped our bags at a regional airport and got a domestic flight into LHR for an international connection. Our bags joined a massive pile of about 12,000 other bags in a massive room and we received them about a week later. The airline were still allowing people to drop their bags at their origin airport knowing that they would go into the pile and didn't insist on people taking them across the airport manually. The "official" line was that a conveyor belt had broken but I think there was more to it than that.

Nonetheless, I can see why someone who hadn't experienced that would want to have their bags automatically transferred from one aircraft to another.

I feel badly for the staff at Flybe, it can't be nice having to operate a safety-critical service with the amount of uncertainty going on. I think that if there is to be a service connecting regional airports not involving one of the larger hubs, it would have to have some sort of protection from competition or a subsidy, in the way that the railway does, in order for such a service to be profitable.

[portsharbourflyer]

I wander how much of Flybe's issues are partly linked to the fleet choice. I believe the fuel burn on the Dash 8 is 33% more than an ATR72.
There are good reasons why the ATR has outsold the Dash 8. Thats a significant cost implication.

[Apate]

Originally Posted by RoyHudd

Or identify an airline...BEE? Dear God.

BEE is the ICAO three letter identifier for Flybe. You know, the identifier that Professional Pilots would use. Dear God!

[flight_mode]

Originally Posted by portsharbourflyer

I wander how much of Flybe's issues are partly linked to the fleet choice. I believe the fuel burn on the Dash 8 is 33% more than an ATR72.
There are good reasons why the ATR has outsold the Dash 8. Thats a significant cost implication.

Not just fuel burn. Maintenance costs are also sky high.

[ivor toolbox]

Originally Posted by flight_mode

Not just fuel burn. Maintenance costs are also sky high.

And so is cost of acquisition....but Flybe are in a mess of their own making (or at least the making of two or more previous CEO ) , at least fuel burn on Dash is less than fuel burn on Embraer Jets

Ttfn

[Jagwar]

Although we wouldn't miss the noise pollution of the Dash 8s ..........

[RoyHudd]

Originally Posted by Apate

BEE is the ICAO three letter identifier for Flybe. You know, the identifier that Professional Pilots would use. Dear God!

I stand corrected. But as an ATPL with over 10,500 hrs on A320/321/330, I never used BEE, although we positioned on the airline often. ICAO codes are not employed much in Europe, IATA codes always. On my roster, on flight boards, everywhere. . However, you are quite correct.

[tailend]

Jets did them in

Jets simply don't work on super short haul. That's what did Flybe in. Turboprop Q400's perfect, E195's inappropriate. Didn't anyone run the spreadsheet models?
Flybe deserve to survive, Connect must have known what they were getting into for the almost free acquisition of an airline. Didn't anyone run the spreadsheet models....?

[ETOPS]

I’m party to the comms between Flybe crew tonight. Real tears - real despair and anger. Some will struggle to keep a roof over their heads...
So very sorry guys 😥

[flash8]

Originally Posted by tailend

Didn't anyone run the spreadsheet models....?

Management did for sure on their bonuses!

[Arkroyal]

Originally Posted by RoyHudd

I stand corrected. But as an ATPL with over 10,500 hrs on A320/321/330, I never used BEE, although we positioned on the airline often. ICAO codes are not employed much in Europe, IATA codes always. On my roster, on flight boards, everywhere. . However, you are quite correct.

Glad I didn’t have to share your flight deck for any of those hours! Can’t you be civil?

[Compton3fox]

Impact to Blue Islands?

I wonder how this will impact Blue Islands and the routes they operate for Flybe? Could they operate them as BI tomorrow for example?

[Locker10a]

Originally Posted by ETOPS

I’m party to the comms between Flybe crew tonight. Real tears - real despair and anger. Some will struggle to keep a roof over their heads...
So very sorry guys 😥

very sad to hear this, is there more substance/rumour to the aircraft being remotely parked tonight ?
I’ve an early morning flight with them in the morning, hope it goes mostly for the staff many who’ve given many years of service