Flybe To Cut 500 Jobs

[Anita Bush]

 

 

Seems so: "Flybe no longer feels the Liverpool route is viable" http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/frank-exchange-over-flybe-cuts-1-6261999

From the article: He said: ‘Flybe no longer feels the Liverpool route is viable. We need to retain an early morning flight out and a late night flight back. Manchester was identified as the only profitable route of its links to the Isle of Man. I’m optimistic the Manchester link will continue in some form.’ No surprise there. As someone who has needed to travel to Liverpool for healthcare on several occasions, I know through experience that Flybe will dump the Liverpool flight in favour of the Manchester flight when there is a problem with crew or a mechanical fault on one of the planes. Many "patient transfer" people have referred to Flybe as FlyMaybe for quite some time. It's now becoming all too true. edited to add... Flybe has never given two hoots about hospital transfer patients - why would they start now?

That is a bit disingenuous and factually incorrect. In the six years I've been flying the route for Flybe I have never known a flight 'dumped' as you decribe it. If an aircraft goes tech, or there is crew sickness, initially its a case of 'fly the plan'' and any delay taken on the service that that aircraft and crew are scheduled for. If problems persist, flights may be consolidated later in the day to ensure the largest number of people can get where they want to be with the assets available. The flights crews and support staff at the airport realise the importace of the health service flights to our community. I have personally delayed flights to allow patients who are running late to get across or back home.

 

Oh Steve, you can't come on here with genuine facts and and first hand knowledge, you crazy dude. That isn't in the spirit of Manx Forums ;-)

[Max Power]

With Easyjet offering cheaper fares on larger aircraft on the Liverpool route it is hardly surprising that the route is not as profitable as it once was!

Flybe did reduce their Liverpool fares in an attempt to compete but they were still excessive in comparison.

 

Personally I prefer to fly with Flybe, more for the boarding issues, but can't afford to pay more for the privilege.

[Tarne]

People keep quoting this, but these "Excessive" fares seem to be of less than £30 one way!

[woolley]

Letting EJ in early before Flybe pulled out was madness, and has guaranteed that nothing but the scraps is left over for anyone else. So its killed everything stone dead.

But there would be no slots at Gatwick for anyone else since FlyBe sold them to Easy. They would still have done that regardless of what IOM did.

[hboy]

 

 

 

Letting EJ in early before Flybe pulled out was madness, and has guaranteed that nothing but the scraps is left over for anyone else. So its killed everything stone dead.

But there would be no slots at Gatwick for anyone else since FlyBe sold them to Easy. They would still have done that regardless of what IOM did.

Who is to say that any of those slots end up being used for EJ IOM flights? EJ are a volume carrier, if they can make more money flying to somewhere else with an ex-IOM slot they will. So who Flybe sold them to is irrelevant.

 

The fact is that EJ find it cheaper to fly here than paying landing fees in the UK so if they can make a few quid and grab market share as well then its all rosy. Its hardly any way to keep a long term vital air route open is it? So having forced everyone else out they will just piss off when a better deal comes along somewhere else and where will we be then? Up shit creek even more, that's where.

[woolley]

That's true. All I am saying is that EJ wanted those slots and FlyBe were keen to sell. If EJ had not come in before then FlyBe would still have sold them the slots and it is likely that EJ would have used them for other routes leaving no IOM - LGW at all by any airline.

[Max Power]

People keep quoting this, but these "Excessive" fares seem to be of less than £30 one way!

But that's £60 on a return flight!

[info]

birmingham, edinburgh, glasgow, bristol, southampton, norwich....all flybe routes that had zero competition

 

they've also tried london city, blackpool and belfast in the past as well

[woolley]

birmingham, edinburgh, glasgow, bristol, southampton, norwich....all flybe routes that had zero competition

 

they've also tried london city, blackpool and belfast in the past as well

Overkill really though isn't it? For a population the size of ours. We've been very, very fortunate in many, many ways.

[Nellie]

 

birmingham, edinburgh, glasgow, bristol, southampton, norwich....all flybe routes that had zero competition

 

they've also tried london city, blackpool and belfast in the past as well

Overkill really though isn't it? For a population the size of ours. We've been very, very fortunate in many, many ways.

Yes. Add to that list East Midlands, Leeds, Newquay, Galway, Paris, which various others have tried and I think it illustates that the IOMG/Airport Director's whole approach of trying to develop thin services to every airport they could think of, within 60-90 minutes reach has been fundamentally flawed.

 

The volume of traffic is not terribly elastic, and this policy has simply spread the available passengers more thinly and rendered all routes, including what most people would see as the core services,unviable.

 

It is one God almighty mess and listening to Cretney in HoK earlier, I am not convinced he really grasps this.

[Lxxx]

 

 

birmingham, edinburgh, glasgow, bristol, southampton, norwich....all flybe routes that had zero competition

 

they've also tried london city, blackpool and belfast in the past as well

Overkill really though isn't it? For a population the size of ours. We've been very, very fortunate in many, many ways.

Yes. Add to that list East Midlands, Leeds, Newquay, Galway, Paris, which various others have tried and I think it illustates that the IOMG/Airport Director's whole approach of trying to develop thin services to every airport they could think of, within 60-90 minutes reach has been fundamentally flawed.

 

The volume of traffic is not terribly elastic, and this policy has simply spread the available passengers more thinly and rendered all routes, including what most people would see as the core services,unviable.

 

It is one God almighty mess and listening to Cretney in HoK earlier, I am not convinced he really grasps this.

 

Cretin is way out of his depth when it comes to having to use some grey matter and grasp things that require some commercial awareness. Every time I hear him speak my head automatically shakes in disbelief.

[woolley]

 

It is one God almighty mess and listening to Cretney in HoK earlier, I am not convinced he really grasps this.

 

Ah. I'm with you now. When I first glanced at that I wondered what the hell he was doing in Hong Kong.

[Zarley]

 

 

 

Seems so: "Flybe no longer feels the Liverpool route is viable" http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/frank-exchange-over-flybe-cuts-1-6261999

From the article: He said: ‘Flybe no longer feels the Liverpool route is viable. We need to retain an early morning flight out and a late night flight back. Manchester was identified as the only profitable route of its links to the Isle of Man. I’m optimistic the Manchester link will continue in some form.’ No surprise there. As someone who has needed to travel to Liverpool for healthcare on several occasions, I know through experience that Flybe will dump the Liverpool flight in favour of the Manchester flight when there is a problem with crew or a mechanical fault on one of the planes. Many "patient transfer" people have referred to Flybe as FlyMaybe for quite some time. It's now becoming all too true. edited to add... Flybe has never given two hoots about hospital transfer patients - why would they start now?

That is a bit disingenuous and factually incorrect. In the six years I've been flying the route for Flybe I have never known a flight 'dumped' as you decribe it. If an aircraft goes tech, or there is crew sickness, initially its a case of 'fly the plan'' and any delay taken on the service that that aircraft and crew are scheduled for. If problems persist, flights may be consolidated later in the day to ensure the largest number of people can get where they want to be with the assets available. The flights crews and support staff at the airport realise the importace of the health service flights to our community. I have personally delayed flights to allow patients who are running late to get across or back home.

 

Oh Steve, you can't come on here with genuine facts and and first hand knowledge, you crazy dude. That isn't in the spirit of Manx Forums ;-)

 

Are you two calling me a liar?

 

I've been flying to Liverpool for health care between two and four (sometimes more) times a year since 2001. The ONLY airline I flew with in that time which NEVER bumped the early morning Liverpool flight in favour of Manchester or London when there was a problem was Manx Airlines.

 

BA did it several times on the day I was scheduled to fly (can't speak for other days, obviously) and I've experienced this with Flybe at least three times, possibly four. I'm not talking about being grounded due to weather conditions, I'm talking about other Flybe flights going ahead, on time, while the Liverpool flight is cancelled or delayed to the point where appointments are missed.

 

If you've never been ill and had to sit for hours waiting for the airline to make up its mind what they were going to do with your flight, missing your appointment, then you probably have little idea how upsetting and frustrating it can be. It's bad enough having to travel so far for essential health care, but knowing every time you get up at four AM to make the flight that you will be at the mercy of the airline adds a layer of anxiety that sick patients could do without.

 

I don't think it's too much to ask of an airline who enters into a contract with the government to provide the patient transfer service to actually make sure the early morning flight goes ahead, rather than bumping it in favour of Manchester when there's a problem.

 

I'm frightened about what will become of my lifeline to healthcare. I'm also worried about the wider implications of this issue. I can't understand why the government has let things come to this.

[sarahc]

So now you're calling the man who flies the plane a liar.

[ballaughbiker]

Wot? Do he fly them all?