Virgin Atlantic in flybe rescue talks

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kelvedon

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Virgin Atantic are in talks to rescue the Exeter based Flybe airline following its £22 million loss. Virgin have confirmed the talks but say no offer has been made. Flybe is one of the largest independent regional airlines in Europe.

Virgin Atlantic in talks to rescue Flybe
 
I dunno. I have mixed thoughts about this. I used FlyBe last year as it was offering the exact route I wanted between a secondary UK airport and AMS. But gee did they make it difficult... only a tiny cabin bag allowed (much smaller than the standard allowance on other airlines) and the self-service check-ins were ruthless with bag weight - half a kilo over and it refused to check you in. The extra was [begrudingly] allowed at the staffed check-in desk, but it meant a 20 minute wait in a queue. I can't help but think if they were a little more flexible they might have a few more passengers?

And why do other airlines keep buying non-profitable ones? Swissair did it. Etihad does it. It never ends well.
 
I really enjoyed my one and only experience on Flybe. I hope they survive.

ETA: mind you, if I recall it was super cheap and comfy, so that's probably why they are making a loss.
 
And why do other airlines keep buying non-profitable ones? Swissair did it. Etihad does it. It never ends well.

In the UK it can about slots. Although IIRC flybe actually have very few slots at LHR, whilst a few more at LCY, the former quite valuable, the latter not sure.
 
A UK domestic/short-haul network probably wouldn't hurt Virgin Atlantic's long-haul business. They have a solid trans-Atlantic network of point-to-point flights out of London and (to a lesser extent) Manchester. But they lack connectivity to/from elsewhere in Europe.
 
A UK domestic/short-haul network probably wouldn't hurt Virgin Atlantic's long-haul business. They have a solid trans-Atlantic network of point-to-point flights out of London and (to a lesser extent) Manchester. But they lack connectivity to/from elsewhere in Europe.

IIRC they tried 'Little Red' or something for UK domestic flights? That failed. The Europe connections might work. But often those connecting flights come at no extra cost to the TATL ticket. Wonder how profitable they are?
 
I have heaps of Flying Club miles with VS, but the problem is their tiny network, and lack of partners. Having FlyBe would really help.
 
A consortium including Virgin Atlantic and Stobart Group has bought Flybe for £2.2M. The new venture will fly under the Vigin Atlantic brand, marking a return the domestic market for Virgin.

Flybe rescued by Virgin and Stobart
 
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My flybe experience was positive. lived in London's east end, cheap flights from the extremely accessible LCY airport to AMS and DUB (DUB no longer flying it seems)
 
We used Flybe to travel SOU-EDI-SOU in mid October.

We didn't have any issues such as what MEL_Traveller had in post #2.

Cabin baggage is 10Kg with a main bag and an additional laptop bag. Checked baggage was purchased and they were flexible as I stuffed up and we were a kg over which they simply ignored.

Only problem was the Q400 which was noisy and cramped and the need at SOU to walk on a tarmac with jets running.
 
If flights are operated using a VS flight number, it should mean more European VFF earning possibilities...
 
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It appears Flybe's financial problems continue. One solution being considered by the UK Government is a cut to the Air Passenger Duty for domestic flights (currently 13GBP). This would allow Flybe to defer payment of the 100m GBP that it owes. However EU regulations ( which the UK still has to abide by) won't allow this to be applied to an individual company, so the proposal would include all domestic flights. Flybe is Europe's biggest domestic airline.

 
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