Flybe at Hawarden
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Flybe at Hawarden
While in the Chester area on 27 October I saw what I think was a Flybe Embraer on approached to Hawarden. Are they frequent visitors, and does anyone know for what purpose?
Thanks.
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FlyBe at Hawarden
Flybe do not operate any E145 aircraft any more nor have they done so for about
18 months
They however has leased / Sold some E145 to BMI which have BMI on the tail but still retain the Flybe Coulor scheme on the Aircraft which is in face the B A Regional Blue.
You probably saw on of these on the day which from a distance could br mistaken for Fly Be but I assure you it wasn t a Fly Be A/C
Hope this solves the mystery
18 months
They however has leased / Sold some E145 to BMI which have BMI on the tail but still retain the Flybe Coulor scheme on the Aircraft which is in face the B A Regional Blue.
You probably saw on of these on the day which from a distance could br mistaken for Fly Be but I assure you it wasn t a Fly Be A/C
Hope this solves the mystery
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It will have been a bmi liveried Embraer 145 (or a white tail one from the old BA Connect).
They operate weekday charter flights between Hawarden, Filton and Toulouse for Airbus employees.
From memory, there are 2 flights a day to Hawarden and they all fly down to Filton before continuing on to Toulouse.
They operate weekday charter flights between Hawarden, Filton and Toulouse for Airbus employees.
From memory, there are 2 flights a day to Hawarden and they all fly down to Filton before continuing on to Toulouse.
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Thank you for your responses. There was an error in my original post.
The Embraer was in BMI and not Flybe colours. Please accept apologies for my mistake.
Interesting to learn of the Airbus charters to Toulouse. I wasn't aware.
The Embraer was in BMI and not Flybe colours. Please accept apologies for my mistake.
Interesting to learn of the Airbus charters to Toulouse. I wasn't aware.
This is a very longstanding contract charter operation through two non-commercial airfields (Hawarden and Filton), which has used a variety of operators and aircraft over the years. Whoever offers the best deal for the contract gets it, so it changes from time to time.
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The general public can fly on the charter flights provided you know someone at Airbus, pay the extortionate fee (£450 rtn from Filton-Toulouse and about half that to Hawarden!) and there is space on the plane once all of the Airbus employees have boarded.
Other than that, it's a great idea to have the airbridge service linking the main sites but I can't help feeling that they could have saved so much money by using a LCC and block-booking a group of 50 seats per flight. Guaranteed income for the LCC even if Airbus don't fill it and it would be a damn site cheaper than having this contract with bmi. Anyway, that's Airbus for you - experts at wasting money!
Other than that, it's a great idea to have the airbridge service linking the main sites but I can't help feeling that they could have saved so much money by using a LCC and block-booking a group of 50 seats per flight. Guaranteed income for the LCC even if Airbus don't fill it and it would be a damn site cheaper than having this contract with bmi. Anyway, that's Airbus for you - experts at wasting money!
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easyJet does fly Bristol-Toulouse daily, so Airbus staff could use that service too.
German airline OLT has operated the Hawarden (CEG)-Filton (FIL)-Toulouse service in the past with ER4 equipment timetabled, which is odd as I don't think they have any of their own; maybe the bmi aircraft is sub-chartered in. OLT also operates Airbus company shuttles from Toulouse to various sites in Germany, including Bremen, Finkenwerder and sometimes Hamburg. It also links Bremen with Bristol using Saab 2000s.
German airline OLT has operated the Hawarden (CEG)-Filton (FIL)-Toulouse service in the past with ER4 equipment timetabled, which is odd as I don't think they have any of their own; maybe the bmi aircraft is sub-chartered in. OLT also operates Airbus company shuttles from Toulouse to various sites in Germany, including Bremen, Finkenwerder and sometimes Hamburg. It also links Bremen with Bristol using Saab 2000s.
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Easyjet do indeed fly Bristol-Toulouse. The only problem is that the flight times do not suite employees travelling on the route as you effectively waste a day getting to France. Also, Airbus have a policy whereby you can only book the EasyJet flight if the shuttle service on the Embraer is full - even if EasyJet are selling the tickets for £20 one way a few weeks beforehand and you know you will have to travel on a set date...
My point is that if Airbus pitched these offers to the airlines of block-booking 50 seats per flight for employee use, I'm sure the likes of EasyJet and Ryanair (others as well) would have a good think about operating some routes. 50 guaranteed bums on seats every day (or even twice daily!) is a heck of a good deal and that's before the seats go on general sale to the public.
In the case of EasyJet, they could probably operate the Airbus shuttle flights effectively for free and Airbus could simply give them a great deal on a nice new order book of shiny new Airbus models - if only the world was that simple. Politics!
My point is that if Airbus pitched these offers to the airlines of block-booking 50 seats per flight for employee use, I'm sure the likes of EasyJet and Ryanair (others as well) would have a good think about operating some routes. 50 guaranteed bums on seats every day (or even twice daily!) is a heck of a good deal and that's before the seats go on general sale to the public.
In the case of EasyJet, they could probably operate the Airbus shuttle flights effectively for free and Airbus could simply give them a great deal on a nice new order book of shiny new Airbus models - if only the world was that simple. Politics!
Ther shuttle is also quite controllable by Airbus, they will cancel it if they don't need it, divert the aircraft to another destination, etc.
You can doubtless also carry on as many PCs, sets of drawings, boxes of sales brochures, etc as you need for your trip. Something Easy would not be too happy with.
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Ther shuttle is also quite controllable by Airbus, they will cancel it if they don't need it, divert the aircraft to another destination, etc.
You can doubtless also carry on as many PCs, sets of drawings, boxes of sales brochures, etc as you need for your trip. Something Easy would not be too happy with.
