Flybe

[LeedsPilot]

Link to LBA press release: http://www.leedsbradfordairport.co.uk/media/2578/01062017.pdf
Operates Mon-Fri and Sunday and appears to be operated by a DUS based a/c or W leg. Interestingly it commences on 29th October meaning we presently have 2 operators lined up for winter 2017/18 unless Jet2 decide to pull the route earlier than presently planned in April.
Times of operation:
Dep LBA 1430 Arr DUS 1715 Dep DUS 1320 Arr LBA 1405

Not too sure about these timings regarding business passengers but I'm sure Flybe's smaller aircraft will be filled - hopefully opening the doors to a more substantial LBA operation which we all know can be supported to other european city destinations.

 

[Finger66]

OMG. Just had to pick myself up off the floor and re read this. What great news and yes if DUS proves itself then it could just be the wake up call we have all been craving. Let the sleeping giant rise!

 

[rmac]

Agreed and if they can make a success of DSA-CDG surely a daily LBA-CDG would be a winner, especially if an early morning departure.

 

[Jerry]

LBA-CDG would be a winner, especially if an early morning departure.

And especially if they can include the codeshare they have with Air France.

 

[lbaspotter]

Flybe LBA - DUS route could possibly get a Air Berlin codeshare.

I see Jason1-11 got a really interesting reply from LBA on twitter earlier regards route development.

 

[Jerry]

Flybe LBA - DUS route could possibly get a Air Berlin codeshare.

I see Jason1-11 got a really interesting reply from LBA on twitter earlier regards route development.

Air Berlin codeshare with them on BHX, MAN, LCY and CWL so i can't see why LBA won't be inlcuded in it.

 

[LeedsPilot]

Agreed and if they can make a success of DSA-CDG surely a daily LBA-CDG would be a winner, especially if an early morning departure.

Agreed - and they were even bold enough to launch DSA-CDG at 13x weekly - unlikely such a commitment would ever be made in one go at LBA regarding the current state of Flybe but they were obviously aware of the apparent lack of capacity from Yorkshire to Paris.

I see Jason1-11 got a really interesting reply from LBA on twitter earlier regards route development.

Also confirmed the route will be operated by Dash8 Q-400 aircraft.

 

[lbaspotter]

Flybe's winter 2017/18 flight scheduled for Leeds/Bradford is looking better now. 38x weekly Dash 8-Q400 flights operating 3x routes to Belfast City, Dusseldorf & Newquay

Mondays
BE729 = BHD 06:40 - LBA 07:40 / BE730 = LBA 08:05 - BHD 09:05
BE731 = BHD 09:50 - LBA 10:50 / BE732 = LBA 11:15 - BHD 12:15
BE733 = BHD 12:30 - LBA 13:30 / BE734 = LBA 14:15 - BHD 15:15
BE1494 = DUS 13:20 – LBA 14:05 / BE1495 = LBA 14:30 – DUS 17:15
BE735 = BHD 15:40 - LBA 16:40 / BE736 = LBA 17:05 - BHD 18:05
BE739 = BHD 18:35 - LBA 19:35 / BE740 = LBA 20:00 - BHD 21:00
Tuesdays
BE729 = BHD 06:40 - LBA 07:40 / BE730 = LBA 08:05 - BHD 09:05
BE731 = BHD 09:50 - LBA 10:50 / BE732 = LBA 11:15 - BHD 12:15
BE733 = BHD 12:05 - LBA 13:05 / BE753 = LBA 13:50 - NQY 15:05
BE1494 = DUS 13:20 – LBA 14:05 / BE1495 = LBA 14:30 – DUS 17:15
BE754 = NQY 15:30 - LBA 16:40 / BE736 = LBA 17:05 - BHD 18:05
BE739 = BHD 18:35 - LBA 19:35 / BE740 = LBA 20:00 - BHD 21:00
Wednesdays
BE729 = BHD 06:40 - LBA 07:40 / BE730 = LBA 08:05 - BHD 09:05
BE731 = BHD 09:50 - LBA 10:50 / BE732 = LBA 11:15 - BHD 12:15
BE733 = BHD 12:30 - LBA 13:30 / BE734 = LBA 14:15 - BHD 15:15
BE1494 = DUS 13:20 – LBA 14:05 / BE1495 = LBA 14:30 – DUS 17:15
BE735 = BHD 15:40 - LBA 16:40 / BE736 = LBA 17:05 - BHD 18:05
BE739 = BHD 18:35 - LBA 19:35 / BE740 = LBA 20:00 - BHD 21:00
Thursdays
BE729 = BHD 06:40 - LBA 07:40 / BE730 = LBA 08:05 - BHD 09:05
BE731 = BHD 09:50 - LBA 10:50 / BE732 = LBA 11:15 - BHD 12:15
BE733 = BHD 12:30 - LBA 13:30 / BE734 = LBA 14:15 - BHD 15:15
BE1494 = DUS 13:20 – LBA 14:05 / BE1495 = LBA 14:30 – DUS 17:15
BE735 = BHD 15:40 - LBA 16:40 / BE736 = LBA 17:05 - BHD 18:05
BE739 = BHD 18:35 - LBA 19:35 / BE740 = LBA 20:00 - BHD 21:00
Fridays
BE729 = BHD 06:40 - LBA 07:40 / BE730 = LBA 08:05 - BHD 09:05
BE731 = BHD 09:50 - LBA 10:50 / BE732 = LBA 11:15 - BHD 12:15
BE733 = BHD 12:05 - LBA 13:05 / BE753 = LBA 13:30 - NQY 14:45
BE1494 = DUS 13:20 – LBA 14:05 / BE1495 = LBA 14:30 – DUS 17:15
BE754 = NQY 15:10 - LBA 16:20 / BE736 = LBA 17:05 - BHD 18:05
BE737 = BHD 17:55 - LBA 18:55 / BE738 = LBA 19:20 - BHD 20:20
BE739 = BHD 18:45 - LBA 19:45 / BE740 = LBA 20:10 - BHD 21:10
Saturdays
BE729 = BHD 06:40 - LBA 07:40 / BE730 = LBA 08:05 - BHD 09:05
BE731 = BHD 09:50 - LBA 10:50 / BE732 = LBA 11:15 - BHD 12:15
Sundays
BE733 = BHD 12:05 - LBA 13:05 / BE753 = LBA 13:30 - NQY 14:45
BE1494 = DUS 13:20 – LBA 14:05 / BE1495 = LBA 14:30 – DUS 17:15
BE735 = BHD 14:35 - LBA 15:35 / BE736 = LBA 16:00 - BHD 17:00
BE754 = NQY 15:10 - LBA 16:20 / BE738 = LBA 17:05 - BHD 18:05
BE739 = BHD 18:35 - LBA 19:35 / BE740 = LBA 20:20 - BHD 21:20

 

[a300boy]

Very pleased ! maybe they will pick up routes that are dropped by other operators in the future.

 

[oldendays]

I notice the Dusseldorf flight numbers are four-figure rather than three. Is that peculiar to FlyBe international flights or does it perhaps suggest a code share ?

 

[Finger66]

This could be initial positioning to pick up city routes that Jet2 may drop as the smaller 733s are retired in favour of the larger 738s that then concentrate on the bucket and spade routes. This is something we have all speculated about happening. LBA - CDG, especially with the AF code-share could easily support twice daily, and equally DUS could easily grow into 2 daily if still op by a DH8. That's two based aircraft and there is then NQY and the poss of introducing EXT. Who's to say they won't even take on Jet2 on JER as that's a fairly big BE destination. I can see this op growing once they realise there is money to be made. Come on boys, this is your chance!

 

[lbaspotter]

See Jet2 have today removed all there previous planned Leeds-Dusseldorf winter 2017/18 flights which were due to run up until April 2018 now that Flybe have confirmed that they are stepping into replace the route.

Last Jet2 flight will now operate on Friday, October 27th with Flybe taking over from Sunday, October 29th.

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

I really hope that this route shows BE what they are missing out on - as Jet2 grow and start to retire the classic 73 it begs the question what routes will be dropped as the substitute aircraft are too big and which ones will BE pick up. I could quite easily see them operating the CDG & DUS 2 daily, BFS with a based LBA unit, SOU back, MXP, few more german cities.

 

[Bigman]

Now here is an idea. If FlyBe were to up sticks from Donny and bang 2 DH8’s into LBA, they could operate as follows:

Aircraft 1:
2 x daily Paris
6 x weekly Dusseldorf
1 x weekly La Rochelle

Aircraft 2:
Daily Amsterdam
Daily Berlin
5 x weekly Jersey
2 x weekly Bergerac (which they used to do in years gone by)

Now this would of course replicate pretty much all of the remaining Jet2 737/300 routes out of LBA. This could therefore give Jet2 a good excuse to ditch the last 300 routes from LBA and move to 800’s on the remaining 737 routes.

 

[LeedsPilot]

Although Jet2 might see the DUS route as not fitting with its current holiday oriented business model, in the last 6 months the route has been growing slowly. In April, an average of 85 passengers were on each flight. If Flybe can keep the majority of these passengers I wouldn't be surprised to see a second daily flight sooner rather than later! Re-timing the flights to morning and evening would surely increase demand further.
Also, without getting too carried away, the Flybe base at DSA is one to keep an eye on. I know they signed some sort of deal with the airport which they may be tied down to for a while, but their operations there are being further scaled back to just one E175 over winter. Would it be naive to think they could move the E-jet up the road any time soon? The amount of advertising they've poured into DSA and the incredibly low ticket prices on flights just one month from now suggests it's losing Flybe some serious money, especially on the said city routes that LBA is craving.

 

[rmac]

Bigman I agree with you however I am not sure what Jet2's approach is to the likes of Berlin, Budapest, Prague, which are usually 300 routes and it would appear are aimed at city breaks and at 2 or 3 weekly, in other words not really business routes. So with the 800's whilst the seating capacity is greater the actual operating costs may be similar, hence no need to ditch these routes. Amsterdam seems different in that it is daily, sometimes twice daily and, I would have thought reasonably profitable and a future 800 route.
However CDG though would seem a candidate to be dropped by Jet2 and in that case a reasonable target for Flybe with a Dash 8, shorter journey time in a Dash 8, really needs to be 2 daily with AF code share, also Flybe destination from SOU. Of course there are other routes that Flybe might consider - Milan for instance - they already operate there from Cardiff (I think). Another point: why upsticks at Donny-- a LBA operation would still be viable.

 

[Jerry]

Flybe wouldn't need to leave DSA and DSA is an Ejet base same with CWL. Berlin and Milan are operated by E jets so they would need to relocate one of them. I can see Flybe operating a Q400 base or maybe operating routes like AMS and CDG with non based aircraft.

 

[ChurchFenton]

Whilst it's just one route added and we should try to keep our feet on the ground (remember SOU, ABZ, NOC, EXT, LGW), if DUS does well for Flybe, then this, together with the excellent passenger numbers being seen on the recently introduced NQY service (albeit with a subsidy) must surely encourage Flybe to look at the possibilities of other routes from LBA.

Agree that CDG appears to be a great potential fit, with or without Jet2s paltry 4 times weekly service remaining, if can be done at least twice per day with AF codesharing. Summer JER service would also be another easy win for them, once LS retire the 733s, with potential for year round service at reduced frequency during winter.

I'm not expecting anything drastic in terms of expansion from Flybe at LBA, but if BHD, NQY and DUS perform strongly then it would make sense that they'd hopefully show some interest in any other underserved/previously proven routes which would fit in with their network.

 

[whoshotjimmi]

I'd just like to sound some notes of caution before the entire forum takes off in a haze of undeserved optimism.

All that's happened is one airline has taken over another's route. Flybe hasn't suddenly become LBAs best friend overnight. What's more, it will be a decrease in capacity this winter over last and prices for the customer are likely to be higher (a quick search on the app confirms the staggeringly increased cost, whatever the headline prices will have us believe) though the route will at least be operated by an aircraft more suited to it.

There seems to be a lot of talk of Paris and what's happened at Doncaster and, whilst the Jet2 offering at LBA is pathetic, Flybe has hardly covered itself in glory over yonder. After all, the route began as twice daily with an E195, has since dropped to once daily with an E175 and will drop to 5xweekly in November. An absolute success it is not, despite the codeshare and the magnificently low prices that are available on the route (again, a quick app search will highlight the absolute bargains available). A quick 5 minutes on skyscanner proves that you can have all the codeshares you want but if the timings and frequency aren't right, it won't make the blindest bit of difference. There is absolutely nothing to suggest that LBA currently warrants twice daily flights to Paris.

This is on top of the talk of Flybe taking over all the other Jet2 733 routes. With what exactly? They are currently reducing their fleet numbers and, unless that policy changes (which, knowing Flybe, it may well do several times), the aircraft simply do not exist to start thinking about basing them at LBA. W Legs are a possibility and DUS has the added bonus of being a Flybe base but I certainly wouldn't expect that to be achievable across the board.

Finally, the route tends to be business oriented with a good business clientele and loyalty. Currently, the route operates in the evening. This means that you can do an almost fully productive day 1 at work in Leeds, catch a flight to Dusseldorf in the evening, complete a fully productive day 2 in Dusseldorf and catch the evening flight home, ready for the next productive day 3 back in Leeds and vice versa. With the Flybe timings, this is not possible and the best part of two full productive days will be lost by business people travelling on this route.
This is going to matter to businesses and we may just find that travellers are pushed onto better timed services over the hill.

Don't get me wrong, it's great that Flybe has stepped in to keep the link alive but let's wait and see how it all pans out before we start jumping for joy and planning the great Flybe/LBA revolution....

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

Completely agree with you whoshotjimmi.

The route has a loyal following and this will hopefully carry over to Flybe who will be as we say better suited to the route with the correct aircraft and hopefully be able to grow it more then Jet2. I have to say though; having spoken to some of the DUS customers before when Jet2 changed the timings of the route over to 4pm departure out of LBA most if not ALL customers preferred this earlier departure out of LBA. Some will move over to MAN that is inevitable; however a lot of the DUS passengers come to Yorkshire to do business in York, Harrogate, Leeds, Bradford - most of which are not that far away in a private taxi.

It's a bit of excitement as we know the inevitable cull of certain routes is possible by Jet2 once the classics start leaving the fleet all together so i think we, members, started to put two and two together that they could step in to take over the markets already started by Jet2 however discontinued due to the viability of operating a larger aircraft on them. This 'new' route will hopefully show BE how different the market is over here at LBA. It is up to Flybe to maintain the hard work that Jet2 put in ...

Your comparison of the DSA-CDG and LBA-CDG is like comparing Apples with Pears. Completely different catchment areas, completely different market variables - and lets be realistic DSA-CDG at that frequency was nothing more then stupid considering EMA cannot sustain it, 4 weekly out LBA what made them think they could sustain 14 weekly flights out of DSA is beyond me.