Flybe

[TheLocalYokel]

User001 who is always well informed and knowledgeable on MAN matters has posted in the MAN Flybe thread that the MAN-CWL route is expected to be announced on Monday.

 

[Em0866]

This is interesting, If this is the case then Flybe must have done their homework and know something. Let's see what happens on Monday!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Looking at the Flybe booking engine Dusseldorf will cease at the end of February but will return at the beginning of April as Saturday-only, something that used to occur before Flybe began its expansion at the airport last year.

FAO and MXP have already been announced as increasing from 3 x weekly of last summer to 4 x weekly summer 16, with MUC reducing from 5 x weekly last summer to 3 x weekly summer 16. GLA will be 6 x weekly, up from 5 x weekly last summer and this winter.

A couple of DUB rotations also appear to have been dropped for summer 16.

All part of the bedding down exercise no doubt. Currently there are rumours circulating on aviation message boards that more Flybe routes might be announced tomorrow, as well as the MAN which now seems pretty certain to be unveiled then.

 

[Em0866]

Bearing in mind that these routes are still bedding in, I think it is quite acceptable to tweak around with the schedules. It will be interesting to see what is planned for tomorrow. Whatever it will be I am confident that it is something positive. Whether that means more routes or whatever, it will be a good thing I think.

 

[Aviador]

It seems a dead cert now so far as a new Flybe Manchester service goes. Invariably with newish airline bases such as this, routes are chopped and changed until things settle down. Some routes will slowly slip away into the mist bellow the radar while others are announced in a fanfare of publicity.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Some routes will slowly slip away into the mist bellow the radar while others are announced in a fanfare of publicity.

It's one of my pet hates about the airline industry. As you say, new routes or carriers are announced in 'a fanfare of publicity' but when the routes or airlines disappear they usually do so quietly without announcement. Then when someone who was aware of the route because of the glare of publicity it achieved when it commenced tries to book they can't because the route is no more.

The other thing I don't like is when airlines announce new routes at an airport they are often in place of others that have either been axed or reduced in frequency. Again, this is rarely if ever highlighted.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

No new Flybe service revealed yet - not even MAN. The speculation about new Flybe routes being announced today (as well as MAN) seems unfounded. It's 'just' a Flybe promotion handing out free coffee and offering the chance to win free Flybe flights.

 

[Em0866]

Well the public publicity today is not a bad thing. If it means getting the word around about the services they currently provide and making people think or even consider Flybe routes from CWL, it can't be a bad thing. OK, so no new routes as yet but on reflection the routes have not been running for a year yet and the routes they do have need to become more established.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

It's always good to get the airline name around the catchment as you say. The CWL team and Fybe seem to be good at this sort of thing; it's a nice change because under the previous ownership the PR team seemed to be hamstrung by the airport owners.

 

[Em0866]

Oh yes. Always good to get some PR done and in such an effective way, I think. I believe they were in Swansea too and probably in other areas dotted around the catchment area....not just concentrating on the city centre of Cardiff

 

[TheLocalYokel]

They ought next to take a leaf out of the BRS team and push their products in the 'opposition's' back yard.

Never see any advertising in the Bristol area for anything to do with CWL. It wasn't always the case. I can remember, probably about 25 years ago, a Bristol double decker bus was painted entirely in Cardiff Airport livery with all its then routes listed. It was a bus that operated one of the regular routes in the centre of Bristol.

 

[Em0866]

Of course, times have changes since then and we all know how BRS have gone way ahead of CWL by a HUGE margin. I do like your idea though and maybe it is something they want to consider in the next round of PR events, should they have one. Something to consider, nevertheless

 

[TheLocalYokel]

It seems that the MAN route will be announced soon. See the MAN Flybe thread. The poster is well informed on MAN matters.

 

[Em0866]

Interesting. We shall have to sit tight to see when or if this will happen. Remember the more recent rumours?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

December 2015

CAA stats are now out so it's possible to ascertain Flybe loads again. December was a messy month in that several routes were reduced in frequency and Christmas also interfered with the normal timetable.

Thanks to South Wales Aviation Groups's daily digest of flights I was able to ascertain how many rotations operated to each destination with the following results. I've appended the November 2015 figures in blue for comparison purposes.

Edinburgh 6644 passengers, ave load 72.2 load factor 61.2%
Edinburgh 6663 passengers, ave load 66.6 load factor 56.5%

Glasgow 2621 65.5 55.5%
Glasgow 2416 57.5 48.7%

Jersey 717 51.2 43.4%
Jersey 682 37.9 32.1%

Cork 712 44.5 37.7%
Cork 462 33 28.0%

Milan MXP 1429 59.5 50.5%
Milan MXP 1209 46.5 39.4%

Paris CDG 4158 74.2 62.9%
Paris CDG 3879 64.7 54.8%

Faro 376 47 39.8%
Faro 1108 61.6 52.2%

Dusseldorf 1125 56.2 47.7%
Dusseldorf 729 30.4 25.8%

Munich 1626 62.5 53%
Munich 974 37.5 31.8%

Geneva 246 61.5 52.1%*

Chambery 201 50.2 42.6%*

* GVA operated last winter but from memory it was a Q 400 so I've not compared it with this year although last winter December saw 159 passengers. CMF did not operate last winter. If we take the premise that the first inbounds of the season on both routes would have been extremely lightly loaded it's possible to estimate that the 'live' sectors would have seen average loads of around 82 (lf 69.5%) for Geneva and 67 (56.8%) for CMF.

Belfast City 3446 57.4 73.6%
Belfast City 3270 54.5 69.9%

Could not establish Dublin as it competes with EIR.

All flights on the 118-seat E 195 except BHD which is 78-seat Q 400.

December saw decent improvements of average load and load factor on all routes except Faro. It seems that Flybe's policy of operating some routes at a reduced frequency has paid off in that regard.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Will the person who has been copying some of my posts, including the post above, to another forum please have the courtesy to acknowledge Forums4Airports when doing so. He knows who he is and so do I*.

I have no problem with my posts being reproduced so long as Forums4Airports receives a credit. Many thanks.

* He is not a regular poster to Forums4Airports should any of our regular posters wonder.

 

[kraktoa]

What planes do Flybe use on the Milan route and whats the max pax capacity. I urgently need the pax numbers for Mxp to Cardiff on Friday just gone, 5 th feb, the md day flight. Thanks in advance.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Flybe uses the E 195 on all its CWL routes (they base two aircraft at the airport) except Belfast City which is a BHD-based Q 400.

The E 195 has 118 seats. Individual sector loads of any airline are not usually published and are sometimes regarded as commercially confidential - quite why I never understand as any passenger who is interested could easily count the number of people on board on relatively small aircraft such as the E 195.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

January 2016

Thanks once again to South Wales Aviation Groups's daily digest of flights I was able to ascertain how many rotations operated to each destination with the following results. Flybe reduced its frequency on most routes throughout the month. I've set out below January's figures in red with December's in black and November's in blue for comparison purposes.

Edinburgh 5709 passengers, ave load 68, load factor 57.6%
Edinburgh 6644 passengers, ave load 72.2 load factor 61.2%
Edinburgh 6663 passengers, ave load 66.6 load factor 56.5%

Glasgow 1631 54.4 46.1%
Glasgow 2621 65.5 55.5%
Glasgow 2416 57.5 48.7%

Jersey 551 34.4 29.2%
Jersey 717 51.2 43.4%
Jersey 682 37.9 32.1%

Cork 285 23.8 20.2%
Cork 712 44.5 37.7%
Cork 462 33 28.0%

Milan MXP 1188 49.5 41.9%
Milan MXP 1429 59.5 50.5%
Milan MXP 1209 46.5 39.4%

Paris CDG 3719 60 50.8%
Paris CDG 4158 74.2 62.9%
Paris CDG 3879 64.7 54.8%

Faro 614 38.4 32.5%
Faro 376 47 39.8%
Faro 1108 61.6 52.2%

Dusseldorf 408 34 28.8%
Dusseldorf 1125 56.2 47.7%
Dusseldorf 729 30.4 25.8%

Munich 923 38.5 32.6%
Munich 1626 62.5 53%
Munich 974 37.5 31.8%

Geneva 936 93.6 79.3%*
Geneva 246 61.5 52.1%

Chambery 762 76.2 64.6%*
Chambery 201 50.2 42.6%

* GVA operated last winter but from memory it was a Q 400 so I've not compared it with this year although last winter January saw 654 passengers. CMF did not operate last winter.

Belfast City 2482 67 85.9%
Belfast City 3446 57.4 73.6%
Belfast City 3270 54.5 69.9%

Could not establish Dublin as it competes with EIR.

All flights on the 118-seat E 195 except BHD which is 78-seat Q 400.

Some of the load factors are disappointing even taking into account that January is usually the poorest month for air travel in the UK and that the E195 is a large aircraft for some of the routes.

 

[Em0866]

It is disappointing, some of these figures, but it is January and they did cut back on some of the flights during the month. I am confident that the figs for February will be an improvement though. From then on we'll see increases in pax nos. Let's not forget that January figures overall were much better than January last year. Flybe has not had these 2 aircraft based at CWL for a year yet, although I am sure Flybe know what they're doing and I am sure they are keeping a close eye on things. Maybe a E-195 and E-175 would be better to have based there.