Flybe has announced 31 new
flights just days after news broke that its takeover of BA Connect would
result in up to 900
flight cancellations this spring.
The 31 new Flybe flights are made up of 20 routes that are currently operated
by BA Connect and 11 new routes (details below). The remainder of BA
Connect's flights, which number 14 and are the airline's least profitable,
have been scrapped from today (see below).
According to Flybe, at least half the passengers affected by the cancellations
will be re-accommodated and reach their destinations no later than an hour
later than their original schedules. In addition, Flybe has offered to pay
for transport for any passenger that has to travel from an alternative
airport. The other affected passengers will be refunded.
On those routes that are being continued by Flybe, the carrier has promised
fares that are lower than those previously set by BA, dropping prices by up
to £19 per passenger. Flybe is also aggressively pricing its new routes from
£25 one way, including taxes, in a bid to fill its planes.
The 11 new Flybe routes include services to its most popular destinations,
such as Bergerac and Paris, and will use take off and landing slots that
have been freed up by the scrapping of the 15 BA Connect flights. Following
the acquisition of BA Connect, the BA aircraft will be phased out and Flybe
planes introduced on all routes. Once the new schedule is launched, Flybe's
network will be 70 per cent domestic UK, 20 per cent European destinations
classed as business and 10 per cent as leisure.
As reported
by Mark Frary last week, while the acquisition goes through this spring,
up to 900 BA flights will be cancelled. Passengers are being offered a
refund or rebooking onto an alternative flight.
The 14 BA Connect services that have been cancelled as of today:
Aberdeen to Manchester
Birmingham to Geneva
Birmingham to Lyon
Birmingham to Madrid
Birmingham to Berlin
Edinburgh to Hamburg
Geneva to Manchester
Lyon to Manchester
Madrid to Manchester
Berlin to Manchester
Vienna to Manchester
Bristol to Munich
Bristol to Milan
Bristol to Zurich
The 11 new routes being launched by Flybe, scheduled to launch between
March 23 and May 26:
Manchester to Guernsey (from May 24)
Manchester to Bergerac (from May 3)
Manchester to Limoges (from May 24)
Manchester to La Rochelle (from May 22)
Southampton to Paris (from March 25)
Southampton to Isle of Man (from March 25)
Southampton to Frankfurt (from March 25)
London Gatwick to Bergerac (from May 12)
Cardiff to Paris (from April 29)
Edinburgh to Rennes (from May 26)
Guernsey to Norwich (from March 25)
The 20 new Flybe routes previously operated by BA Connect, to be operated
by Flybe from March 25:
Birmingham to Aberdeen
Birmingham to Paris
Birmingham to Düsseldorf
Birmingham to Frankfurt
Birmingham to Hamburg
Birmingham to Milan
Birmingham to Stuttgart
Manchester to Jersey (currently offered via Southampton)
Edinburgh to Paris
London Gatwick to Inverness
London Gatwick to Isle of Man
Manchester to Brussels
Manchester to Paris
Manchester to Dusseldorf
Manchester to Edinburgh
Manchester to Frankfurt
Manchester to Glasgow
Manchester to Hannover
Manchester to Isle of Man
Manchester to Milan
I live in the West Country but work in Zurich. I have been flying BA Connect BRS-ZRH every week since its inception 2 years ago. Certainly on Monday and Friday the plane is always full. Flybe never answered any of my requests for Info over the last 6 months and are now filling my inbox with upbeat advertising to a "loyal" customer who is not being offered any choice. Top Tip is to go KLM Bristol-Schipol-Zurich. Cheaper than BA or Flybe and better. I prefer 2 hours in Amsterdam than 4 hours struggling to Heathrow.
C Trayler, Exmouth, UK
We booked BA from Bristol Zurich for the summer holidays; now of course there is no alternative flight to book onto form bristol operated by BA or flybe. Shouldn't BA pay for the extra cost we will be forced to pay to book with an alternative carrier?
judith Porter, axbridge, britain
all this news of cancelled routes is making me nervous
Can anyone find a list of routes that are safe?
East midlands to tenerife for exammple.
If you work in education you have to book a long time in advance and flights during school hols are scarce and expensive at the last minute.
karen Frost, stafford,