Flybe Adds More Summer Routes from UK

UK low-fare carrier Flybe has revealed an additional six routes that it will launch this summer from the UK, comprising a mix of domestic and international services. It may be less than ten weeks until the 2012 summer schedules are introduced at the end of March, reducing the time for forward bookings, but Flybe has pressed ahead with its plans to further extend its network and adding an additional 34 weekly flights.

There will be two additional routes from Newcastle International in North East England, a weekly domestic link to Newquay from May 5, 2012 and the resumption of a key link to Bergen in Norway on a three times weekly basis from March 25, 2012. Norway’s second largest city is twinned with Newcastle and the two have a close and active bond. The King of Norway, Olav V, opened Newcastle's Civic Centre in 1968 and each December the City is presented with a Christmas tree by the City of Bergen. The route was previously operated by Eastern Airways.

Elsewhere there will be new links between the UK and Ireland with a daily service between Birmingham and Waterford and a three times weekly flights between Leeds Bradford and Knock; Newquay will also gain a weekly connection to Belfast City from May 5, 2012 and Southampton a twice weekly service to Tours in France from May 16, 2012.

“Flybe is committed to developing our route network throughout the regions and to keeping business and leisure travellers moving during these continued economically challenging times,” said Andrew Strong, managing Director, Flybe. “The introduction of these six attractive destinations to our already extensive schedule for summer gives our passengers a large choice of affordable travel options and we look forward to operating our first flights to these new destinations.”

This announcement followed just days after Loganair, a franchise partner of low-fare carrier Flybe, announced it is to expand its domestic network from Norwich International Airport this summer revealingtwo further destinations thanks to strong bookings on the initial routes it announced last year. The new seasonal links will operate weekly to Southampton and the Isle of Man from mid-May.

Loganair is to base a single aircraft at Norwich International Airport this summer to expand its domestic offering, its first network expansion since it acquired control of former Air France franchisee ScotAirways earlier this year: the company is now known under its original brand, Suckling Airways.

The airline is basing one of Suckling’s 31-seat Dornier 328 turboprops at the East Anglia airport to upgrade Flybe’s existing link to Manchester and introduce flights to Exeter, while Flybe will itself add a seasonal twice weekly connection to Newquay between May 5, 2012 and September 22, 2012 and continue its existing link to Edinburgh.

“The response in Norwich to our announcement of more Manchester services and new Exeter links has been simply fantastic, which has given us confidence to add to our route network before the first flight has even taken to the air,” said Jonathan Hinkles, Chief Operating officer, Loganair.

The new weekly rotation to Southampton will operate between May 19, 2012 and October 27, 2012 and has been established to allow cruise passengers travelling on the extensive range of sailings available from Southampton to enjoy a trouble-free and speedy start to their holiday, as well as to support the point-to-point demand between the English cities. The flight to the Isle of Man will also operate on a weekly basis from May 26, 2012 and will offer a more convenient link for those holidaying in the Isle of Man, visiting friends and relatives or travelling to major events like the TT Races, hosted on the island in the first two weeks of June.

These new routes will strengthen Flybe's position in the UK market, particularly on domestic routes and flights from the regions. As the table below illustrates, Flybe is the leading domestic operator in the UK with a 28.1 per cent share of the weekly seat capacity.