Archive Flybe at Cardiff Airport

[Severn]

Agreed, however all the new Flybe routes will be in direct competition with BRS flights to the same destinations with better flight times, frequencies, a better known presence and also a number of those routes having more than one airline operating them...

For example, in mid September, here is a comparison of the new Flybe routes and weekly frequencies against the same ones out of BRS:

Cardiff - Edinburgh: 13x weekly
Bristol - Edinburgh: 22x weekly (easyJet)

Cardiff - Dublin: 12x weekly – (+ 14x weekly Aer Lingus Regional)
Bristol - Dublin: 36x weekly (Ryanair / Aer Lingus Regional)

Cardiff - Belfast City: 7x weekly (only current route operated by Flybe)
Bristol - Belfast Intl.: 15x weekly (easyJet)

Cardiff - Paris CDG: 7x weekly
Bristol - Paris CDG: 18x weekly (easyJet / bmi Regional)

Cardiff - Glasgow Intl.: 5x weekly
Bristol - Glasgow Intl.: 18x weekly (easyJet)

Cardiff - Munich: 5x weekly
Bristol - Munich: 12x weekly (bmi Regional (with LH codeshare))

Cardiff - Dusseldorf: 4x weekly
Bristol - Dusseldorf: 6x weekly (bmi Regional (with LH codeshare))

Cardiff - Faro: 3x weekly
Bristol - Faro: 22x weekly (easyJet / Ryanair)

Cardiff - Jersey: 3x weekly
Bristol - Jersey: 12x weekly (Blue Islands)

Cardiff - Milan Malpensa: 3x weekly
Bristol - Milan Malpensa: 4x weekly (bmi Regional)
Bristol - Milan Bergamo: 3x weekly (Ryanair)

Cardiff - Cork: 2x weekly
Bristol - Cork: 7x weekly (Aer Lingus Regional)

 

[Em0866]

This is very true. This is a step in the right direction and with the right price and promotion of routes available it can hopefully be the start of an increase in passenger numbers.

 

[alphagolf]

I really hope flybe can make a real go of it and only time will tell which of the new routes are still around this time next year. The biggest concern I would raise is that I think some of the routes are very thin and operating an 118 seat aircraft is one hell of a mountain to climb.

The routes I think will struggle are as follows:
Dublin - If Aer Lingus stay
Dusseldorf - Saturday's yes, but another 3x weekly not sure.
Edinburgh - If Cityjet stay
Milan MXP - Not a huge route at BRS
Munich - Unless codeshare/interlining

However, I think Faro, Belfast City, Glasgow, Jersey, Paris CDG, Cork will do relatively well and possible build to be successful routes.

I sincerely hope I am proved completely wrong and all the routes announced are still here in 12 months time. Good luck Cardiff, good news at last and long may it continue.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Good news for CWL but the question remains as to why the airline has announced a return to the airport not much more than a year after it axed several routes including some that will now be reinstated because it said they were unprofitable.

The answer is that the Wales Assembly Government has committed substantial cash amounts into supporting this initiative. Without this support Flybe would almost certainly have not returned.

Many, including me, have said for a number of years that Flybe operates the size of aircraft more suited to CWL than the 150-190 seaters used by the major low cost airlines. At least the WAG support ought to buy time for the airline to be able to try to build up a decent passenger following.

In the end though it will have to fend for itself as even a public money pit will not last for ever. Let's hope that the seed corn money from the public purse does indeed do the job it was set up to do.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

CWL Base

I read in the Welsh Press a few weeks ago that CWL would be a 2x ERJ195 base but, according to Jethro's Fleet Listings, the airline now doesn't have any.

Will it be a 2 x ERJ190 base? Flybe was supposed to be getting rid of most of those and (again vide Jethro) they currently have 13, most of which are leased out or stored although two will be returning to service at the end of August (for CWL?).

Looking at fares for such places as Dusseldorf and Munich, they appear to be considerably cheaper than bmi regional's fares to these destinations from BRS. The fares are also cheaper in most cases than fares on comparable routes from other Flybe bases.

Presumably it's a case of low lead-in fares to get the punters used to the service and to spread the word. In the meantime there are some bargains going for those interested.

 

[juliet-fox-9]

Flybe doesn't have any E190's, just E175's and E195's (although both are also classified as the updated E170 and E190 by some, which may account for the non-existence of Flybe E195's in that database?). At least 1 E195 is still going (G-FBEJ has been operating every single Flybe BHX-CDG flight for as long as I can remember and is due in again tonight).

 

[News Guru]

Flybe’s 12 route network jets in to Cardiff Airport today

Flybe’s new base at Cardiff Airport opens officially today (1 June 2015) with passengers boarding inaugural flights to Edinburgh, Paris and Dublin as part of an extended 12 route network that also includes new routes to Cork, Faro, Glasgow, Munich, and Milan.

As part of its new two aircraft base, Europe’s largest regional airline will also improve frequency and capacity on existing routes to Belfast City, Dusseldorf, Jersey and on its 2015-16 Winter flights to Geneva. The first of two 118-seat Embraer 195 aircraft jets into Cardiff today to begin operations, while the second will follow on 1 September 2015. The 10- year agreement between Flybe and Cardiff Airport brings half a million extra seats for sale each year and has created 50 new jobs, including flight crew.

http://www.cardiff-airport.com/news/201 ... ort-today/

 

[Em0866]

I wish Flybe and CWL the very best in the months to come. I really do hope that this is the start of a new beginning and to start seeing the pax figures rise. Onwards and upwards!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I wish Flybe and CWL the very best in the months to come. I really do hope that this is the start of a new beginning and to start seeing the pax figures rise. Onwards and upwards!

They should do well although my only reservation is the size of the aircraft for some of the routes. I can't help thinking that the Q 400 would have been a better fit for some of them but with a two-aircraft base it's clearly unrealistic to have two completely different types of aircraft.

I was looking at some of the fares again today and many are certainly a lot cheaper than comparable routes from other Flybe bases. I presume these are introductory.

I wonder what are the conditions of the 10-year agreement, not that I'm likely to find out as it will be a commercial confidence.

 

[Aviador]

Well Flybe will advertise itself well around Cardiff and across the Severn well into Bristol territory. All being well, Cardiff airport will do the same with copious advertisement around the airport and else where.

I do think Flybe will do well out of Cardiff airport and to be honest, for Cardiff's sake it has to do because I can't see where the airport can go if this venture fails for them.

If we have any locals in the area that use the forum, it would be good to hear how the airline is doing from a local perspective and also to hear how the airport and airline are marketing the routes?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Well Flybe will advertise itself well around Cardiff and across the Severn well into Bristol territory. All being well, Cardiff airport will do the same with copious advertisement around the airport and else where.

I do think Flybe will do well out of Cardiff airport and to be honest, for Cardiff's sake it has to do because I can't see where the airport can go if this venture fails for them.

If we have any locals in the area that use the forum, it would be good to hear how the airline is doing from a local perspective and also to hear how the airport and airline are marketing the routes?

I've seen no marketing in the Bristol area.

Half the routes (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Faro, Paris Cdg, Dublin, Geneva in winter) are up agains easyJet and/or Ryanair so Flybe might decide that they are unlikely to pick up much trade there from the West Country with the major locos usually more competitive in fares and with greater frequency.

Cork is up against the daily Aer Lingus Regional at BRS so might attract a few passengers if Flybe's fares were really low, although CWL-ORK will be Saturdays-only until September, then Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Munich and Dusseldorf might attract some customers from the BRS area as bmi regional is very expensive but MUC is a LH-code share so point to point only would be likely to be attracted.

Milan Malpensa might be the best bet for getting some of the West Country punters having regard to bmi regional's fares.

Jersey too will be a lot cheaper than Blue Islands from BRS although the latter is double daily, thus more flexibility.

I don't know what company travel (if any) might boost some of the Flybe business routes in the way that, for example, Airbus and Imperial Tobacco help to underpin the bmi regional BRS-Hamburg route and Augusta Westland boosts the bmi regional BRS-MXP route.

One of the problems that CWL has in attracting business customers from the West Country is the fact that they have more options if BRS is not available or they don't want to use it for whatever reason. Many of them use LHR as their default airport (even when BRS is available) and the south of the catchment can easily get to Exeter and the north to Birmingham.

Somehow CWL and its airlines have got to get themselves in the BRS catchment's eye line. They've been trying to do so for many years with extremely limited success, even when bmi baby was going strong with three based aircraft at CWL.

Devolved APD would probably help but whether it would be a game changer on most of the Severnside routes (which are short haul) is unclear. The BRS senior management thinks it would but a lot of this may be posturing to try to stop a rival getting (what they see as) unfair government assistance.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Ten years is a very significant amount of time for an agreement. I'd assume there are get out clauses for both parties should performance not be met but as said we'll never know the details.

It's a big commitment for both airline and airport considering events of the not too distant past but I guess due diligence would have been done beforehand and they must feel confident it can work.

Good luck to them :good:

 

[TheLocalYokel]

It's a big commitment for both airline and airport considering events of the not too distant past but I guess due diligence would have been done beforehand and they must feel confident it can work.

Certainly hope so for the people of South Wales.

I agree that a 10-year agreement is a very significant amount of time. It's perhaps especially surprising given that Flybe pulled out of most of its CWL routes early last year saying they were uneconomic.

Something's changed, whether it's the substantial backing that the Wales Assembly Government as airport owner has almost certainly provided (it voted a multi million pound new route war chest in its budget agreed earlier this year with the first £3 million-plus already available), or the airline believes the economic climate has changed substantially, or a combination of the two.

I have a feeling that the initiative might work even though one or two routes will inevitably fail (and probably be replaced with others) as is the way of new bases with any airline anywhere.

 

[juliet-fox-9]

Flybe are very unpredictable, just look what happened at BHX with a massive route explosion followed by an even more massive implosion, followed by another tiny explosion. It would be excellent for practically all the UK regional airports if Flybe's financial situation improved.
It will be intriguing to see what they do with all the Q400s that they are leasing from Republic Airways.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Apologies if this has already been mentioned.

flyBe in winter 2015/16 season introduces new Ski route from Cardiff, with the launch of Saturday-only Cardiff – Chambery operation, on board Embraer E195 aircraft. First flight is scheduled on 19DEC15.

BE4595 CWL1350 – 1615CMF E95 D
BE4596 CMF1705 – 1730CWL E95 D

http://airlineroute.net/2015/06/11/be-cwlcmf-dec15/

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Flybe tried Chambery from CWL the winter before last along with Geneva, Grenoble and Lyon.

Geneva operated last winter but the other three were axed.

Chambery is now being given another go with Geneva also continuing next winter ski season.

 

[juliet-fox-9]

Apparently 6 E195 aircraft are still in service. G-FBEJ and G-FBEN have been BHX regulars as the summer rush starts.
When do flybe plan to end E195 ops or have they put that on hold as now they seem to be needing them for these routes and increases?

 

[Ray Finkle]

I see E195 G-FBEI is now wearing 'Proudly serving Wales' titles.

Photo courtesy of the BHX Photo Blog.

http://bhxflightguide.blogspot.co.uk/

 

[juliet-fox-9]

It doesn't look like they'll be leaving any time soon. The Flybe page on Wikipedia used to have the fleet list showing the E195s as due to be phased out, but now that has disappeared and it simply says that some of them are stored.

 

[superking]

It doesn't look like they'll be leaving any time soon. The Flybe page on Wikipedia used to have the fleet list showing the E195s as due to be phased out, but now that has disappeared and it simply says that some of them are stored.

dont beleive ever thing you read on ikipedia. in the past been lots of stories on there and ppl took it as gospal and it caused a lot of embarrisment.