Flybe

[jfy1999]

I find it frustrating that the most concrete thing we have heard for Virgin's route development with BE is their expansion plan for Heathrow's third runway, which is at least 5-10 years away. They have been very vague about route development outside LHR in the short term.

 

[jfy1999]

To clarify my above post, the extensive route cuts could possibly be taken as a statement of the owner's long term intent, but they gave very little warning, and we still don't know whether they are planning to completely cut flights from the UK regions to Europe in the long term.

 

[Coathanger16]

I still think if Virgin were only interested in turning Flybe into a feeder airline for LHR & MAN they'd have already cut everything else - or at the very least cut back non MAN/LHR bases more than they have.

As it is how much of the BHX base have we lost?

I'm still holding out for Virgin Connect maintaining the Flybe base at BHX.

 

[Matt995]

Well I was never expecting the name Virgin Connect, must have took Virgin's marketing/media department months of head scratching to come up with that name........

We can only hope for some good news for BHX, but I just cant get excited about it, and can only see more bad news on the horizon.

so are we going to see lots of regional uk airports being linked to Heathrow and Manchester? Exeter, Cardiff, Norwich, Belfast City, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness etc... and yet poor old Birmingham & East Midlands are slap bang in the middle of Manchester and Heathrow, so no link and routes quietly dropped?

 

[Matt995]

awww no more Flymaybe!!!! I suspect the name and flight code BE will be gone by summer 2020

 

[KJAY 786]

Congratulations and well done a fantastic brand VIRGIN GROUP and I hope we see more routes and investments in Birmingham BHX -NOW.
Richard Brandson we all love you and my dear SIR BRANDSON we Admire You Thank You.
VIRGIN CONNECT hope you start Long Haul as well the USA and CANADA from BHX to start with followed by Carribbean and ASIA then after. oh dear love we love you my love x x x RICHARD BRANDSON x x x

 

[58terminus]

Do you mean Richard Branson ?

 

[58terminus]

Do you mean Richard Branson ?

Actually BRANDson would be more fitting.

 

[Ianbutty]

I am old enough to remember being excited by Mr Brandsons business venture...even the condoms .

BHX made Flybe worth buying so payback time Mr Brineson.

 

[Kevin Farnell]

VIRGIN CONNECT hope you start Long Haul as well the USA and CANADA from BHX to start with followed by Carribbean and ASIA then after.

Sorry KJAY, but Virgin Connect will not be doing any long haul flights from BHX or any other airport. They will remain as a regional airline. The reason that Virgin (and partners) were interested in aquiring Flybe was to create a feeder airline from UK and possibly European cities into Virgin hubs at LHR and MAN. Hopefully, their business model also includes continuing the majority of intra UK regional routes and European routes from current UK bases. That's what we are debating on F4A currently.

Regards

Kevin

 

[Jerry]

I just had a thought about the previous Flybe route cuts at BHX and other airports. What if it's to do with making sure that enough of the fleet is grounded for repainting?. If so many of the routes may well return in the summer.

 

[mullion]

Interesting especially if they want a quick change over or at least dull down to white until they can do full scheme

 

[Coathanger16]

As nice as that would be, I very much doubt it.

Airlines usually repaint aircraft when the aircraft is due in for scheduled maintenance, even if the airline is rebranding.

 

[Jerry]

But I'd have thought that Virgin would be extra keen to get Flybe off the aircraft and Virgin Connect onto to the aircraft asap especially if they consider the Flybe brand toxic?

 

[mullion]

Also depends on slots for painting

 

[Kevin Farnell]

What we see time and time again, is removal of an airlines name from the airframe, to be replaced by the new identity whilst retaining the original colour scheme. I would expect Virgin Connect to go down this route, whilst showcasing a couple of aircraft repainted into the new livery. That way, the new scheme is unveiled whilst not upsetting pax with temporary route closures.

Kevin

 

[GliderPilot]

The website seems to focus on this 'journey' to becoming Virgin connect which suggests they admit it's not going to be an overnight transition. I think they will be eager to change the livery but I highly doubt they will interrupt the airline's flight schedule to do so

To add some substance to my point I've pulled a couple of quotes from www.virginconnect.co.uk

- " join us on every step of this exciting journey! "
- " our exciting journey to Virgin Connect. "

As pointed out previously though the article on the launch website does seem to be a bit woolly so I'm not sure how much I should read into it

 

[Coathanger16]

To be honest it kind of surprises me that all they've said is they're changing the name and that the purple will go, to be replaced by red. No new website, no aircraft in new livery, not even a mock up of a new livery.

Why not hold off on the announcement until they had at least 1 aircraft in the new colour scheme and launch a new website at the same time.

It's not like most people didn't know a rebrand was coming...

 

[Coathanger16]

Also rather ironic that back in the day Flybe bought BA Connect and now Flybe is being replaced by Virgin Connect.

 

[nbdm]

Not a huge surprise about the name, but I suppose they want to ditch the Flybe brand fairly sharpish.

Another irony is that it is called Virgin Connect when Virgin Atlantic don't fly to many of the places Flybe do.
Very irritating seeing the constant billboard ads for Virgin Atlantic around Birmingham promoting flights to Orlando from Manchester, they clearly think/know there is a market here...