There have been a number of discussions over the recent weeks about using FlyBe, both for flights to Scotland and Normandy, as well as others.
They are now begging for a tax duty bailout or delay, and the headline in the BBC news tonight is "FlyBe on the Brink".
If planning on using them, check regularly...
Virgin and Stobart are each shovelling in another truck load of money and the government has said that it will "look" at money (which probably means no money) so they stay afloat for a little longer...
The government are unable to inject any money into the airline due to EU competition rules. Little Willy Walsh has already gone squealing to the EU about potential breaches despite the fact that a) He's stepping down and b) IAG has made £billions in profit so why is he concerned about a small regional airline receiving some help and saving thousands of jobs in the process? The words I have for him will result in my comment being removed so I will refrain.
JC, British Airways currently have close to a monopoly on domestic/connecting air travel in the UK. Historically Flybe has served its own market, providing connections to Europe from the southwest and P2P flights between smaller UK cities. However, since Virgin and Stobart got involved they’ve been toying with making Flybe their feeder airline. Virgin’s codeshare with Delta has massively expanded their route network, and adding connections from the UK to that network is what they need to tackle BA’s stranglehold of the UK market.
BA has no true competition anymore, not since they bought out BMI. Virgin seems keen to break into their territory, and Flybe is/was their vehicle to do so.
