Flybe (Exeter) starting on October 26 will introduce a new “FlyShuttle” service with Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) turboprop aircraft. The first route will be the Jersey-Southampton-Leeds/Bradford-Aberdeen route and return.

The airline unveiled this new concept with this announcement:

Jump on board FlyShuttle, an innovative, seamless and convenient way to travel around the UK! Just like a bus, you can hop on and off to destinations of your choice – without the hassle of traffic along the way!

Our first route from Jersey spans the length of the country with brief touch downs in Southampton and Leeds/Bradford before travelling on to Aberdeen. Here, you will turn around and head back down south.

With the first flight starting on October 26 this fast, multi-stop travel service provides increased frequency to some of our top UK destinations. The best bit? On UK flights you can continue to relax on board the plane between landing and take-off, avoiding the trouble of changing aircrafts.*

*Passengers arriving from the Channel Islands will be required to disembark to clear customs before connecting onwards.

Copyright Photo: Nik French/AirlinersGallery.com. Painted in the new purple look, Bombardier DHC-8-402 (marketed as the Q400) registered G-JECY (msn 4157) taxies at Manchester.

Flybe: 

Flybe (Exeter) is saving the Aberdeen to London City route, with twice daily flights starting on Monday, October 27, 2014. The route be flown with the pictured Bombardier DHC-8-402 (marketed as the Q400).

The news follows British Airway’s recent announcement that it would be withdrawing from the route at the end of the summer season, and after serious concern around the future of the service that is considered crucial given passenger demand that reflects the strength of the economy in the north of Scotland.

The airline has also announced five more routes to its 2014-15 Winter Schedule including two that are brand new, namely between Birmingham and Berlin (Tegel) with Embraer 175 aircraft and from East Midlands to Aberdeen (weekdays) also with Embraer 175 aircraft. The airline’s daily service between Exeter and Newcastle also returns from October 26, together with two winter ski routes to Geneva from Cardiff and Inverness that start on 20th December 20.

In total, Flybe’s 2014-15 Winter program now features 105 routes offering customers a choice of up to 2,809 flights a week: 16 routes being brand new, with a further 11 that include seasonal routes returning or being extended for the first time through winter.

Copyright Photo: Nik French/AirlinersGallery.com. Once painted in the special “Low cost, but not at any cost” color scheme, Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) G-JEDP (msn 4085) is now painted in the 2014 purple livery.

Flybe: 

Current Flybe routes from London (City):

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) of the United Kingdom has issued its report on the hard landing of Flybe‘s (Exeter) Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) G-JECJ (man 4110) on February 12, 2014 at Belfast City Airport, Northern Ireland with 47 passengers and four crew members:

Flybe (Exeter) has announced new year-round routes from Manchester and London City to Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.

The airline will operate daily flights between Manchester and Amsterdam using 88-seat Embraer 175 jet aircraft from October 26, 2014.

Weekend flights are the order of the day from London City with the airline offering Saturday morning and Sunday evening flights on 78-seat Bombardier Q400 aircraft, conveniently timed for weekend leisure travel from November 1.

The two new routes complement those already featured in Flybe’s existing 2014-15 Winter schedule to Amsterdam. It also enhances the airline’s debut schedule out of London City, adding to those routes already announced to Aberdeen, Belfast City, Dublin, Edinburgh, Exeter and Inverness.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Embraer ERJ 170-200STD (ERJ 175) G-FBJC (msn 17000328) taxies at Amsterdam.

Flybe: 

Flybe (Exeter) today (October 27) as planned launched seven routes from London’s downtown City Airport. The regional carrier now flies from LCY to Aberdeen, Amsterdam, Belfast (City) Dublin, Edinburgh, Exeter and Inverness (see map below).

In other news, according to Bloomberg, quoting CEO Saad Hammed, the airline is in talks with several European airlines about taking over their unprofitable short-haul routes. Flybe currently has such a deal with Finnair (Helsinki).

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Top Copyright Photo: Flybe. To celebrate the launch of Flybe’s new London City Airport routes, six purple planes have been christened with a ‘Spirit of the Regions’ theme. Here’s the ‘Spirit of Belfast’ aircraft, ahead of it’s inaugural flight from George Best Belfast City Airport.

Flybe Aircraft Slide Show:

Routes from London’s City Airport:

Flybe (Exter) is making a lot of moves to streamline its operations under its new CEO Saad Hammed.

The company has announced that it will open a new base at Bournemouth Airport from March 29, 2015.
Two 78-seat Bombardier Q400 aircraft will be deployed to meet demand for key routes to and from Bournemouth. The airline’s Summer 2015 schedule will start with a new year-round, double daily service between Bournemouth and Glasgow.

In addition Flybe will, from May 2015, operate a number of additional new routes to include Amsterdam, Manchester, Paris (Charles de Gaulle), Jersey, Dublin, Deauville (Normandy) Toulon and Biarritz.

The airline also announced it will re-open its base at Aberdeen Airport effective from the start of next year’s Summer season on March 29, 2015.

Four 78-seat Bombardier Q400 aircraft will be based at the airport to service and meet demand for key routes to and from Aberdeen that include those to London (City), Manchester and the Flybe Shuttle.

The news of the base re-opening comes on the back of Flybe last month starting double-daily flights to and from London City Airport, and its innovative three times a day Flybe Shuttle service to Jersey via Leeds/Bradford and Southampton.

Flybe will also start operations at London Stansted Airport from March 15, 2015. This will feature year-round services to the Isle of Man (up to three flights a day) and double daily flights to Newcastle, together with seasonal summer flights to Newquay.

Previously on October 26 the airlines started its winter schedule with up to 2,787 flights a week.

New routes for winter are: Aberdeen to Leeds/Bradford, Birmingham to Oslo and Berlin (Tegel) (and also the first winter for popular summer routes to Cologne, Lyon, Toulouse, Florence and Porto), Dublin to Inverness,
Manchester to Amsterdam and the return of the daily Exeter to Newcastle service.

Finally to make way for this expansion, Flybe has sold its loss-making Flybe Finland operation for €1 to Finnair. Flybe, struggling to return to profitability, has also cancelled an order of 20 new aircraft.

Lybe Finland started operations on October 30, 2011.

Read the full report by The Telegraph: CLICK HERE

Top Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com. Flybe’s Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) G-JEDV (msn 4090) is seen at Southampton.

Flybe aircraft slide show: 

Flybe Finland cities:

Aer Lingus (Dublin) has started a codeshare partnership with low-cost airline Flybe (Exeter). This partnership sees the EI code appear on the following five routes between Dublin and the United Kingdom per Airline Route. These codeshare services began on November 10, 2014.

Aer Lingus routes operated by Flybe:

Dublin – Donegal
Dublin – Exeter
Dublin – Inverness
Dublin – London Southend
Dublin – Southampton

Report by Assistant Editor Oliver Wilcock.

Today we welcome to the World Airline News Team, Assistant Editor Oliver Wilcock. 

Oliver will be focusing on the airlines of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com. Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) G-JECY (msn 4157) of Flybe lands in Southampton.

Aer Lingus aircraft slide show: 

Flybe aircraft slide show: 

Flybe (Exeter) has told MPs that South Ruislip’s RAF Northolt, a Royal Air Force base in the Northwest section of the greater London area, should be opened up for domestic flights until a new runway is built at either Heathrow or Gatwick Airports.

The London Evening Standard is reporting that Britain’s largest regional airline said “there is a need for early wins” in freeing up flight slots before either Gatwick or Heathrow expands, which won’t be until well into the 2020s, in written evidence handed to the Transport Select Committee.

The Airports Commission will recommend which major airport of the two should get an extra runway after May’s UK General Election. But either choice could be heavily delayed as environmental campaigners and local groups mount legal challenges to any expansion.

Flybe said Northolt, which will celebrate its centenary next year and was home to fighter squadrons involved in the Battle of Britain, could be “a temporary ‘satellite’ facility for regional services that do not currently have air traffic until new runway capacity is built and operational”.

The low-cost airline’s submission also repeated calls for the reform of Air Passenger Duty, which ranges from £13 to £194 a flight depending on distance and class of travel.

Reported by Assistant Editor Oliver Wilcock from Manchester.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) G-JEDM (msn 4077) is pictured at Amsterdam.

Flybe aircraft slide show: 

Flybe (Exeter) Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) (G-FLBC, msn 4257), flying from Glasgow to Belfast, was forced to make an emergency landing yesterday (December 17) after an engine fire broke out on board. Flight BE 130, which was travelling to Belfast City Airport, was diverted to Belfast International Airport after the fire was detected.

The airline confirmed the plane was met by emergency services “as a routine and precautionary measure”.

There were no injuries among the 76 passengers, two pilots and two cabin crew. Passengers were brought off the plane and taken by road to Belfast City Airport.

One passenger tweeted: “Lucky to be alive tonight. Plane engine caught fire over the sea. Serious credit to the pilots and crew, great job. Plane had to do an emergency landing. Had basically accepted that my time on earth was done. Pilots I love you.”

In a statement Flybe said: “Flybe can confirm that flight BE 130 from Glasgow to Belfast City diverted to Belfast International Airport due a small engine fire, which was extinguished before landing.”

They added: “At no time was the safety and wellbeing of passengers compromised. Flybe operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all manufacturers guidelines.”

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

Read the full report from the BBC (with videos): CLICK HERE

Report by Assistant Editor Oliver Wilcock from Manchester.

Top Photo: Twitter photo by Ivan.

Flybe aircraft slide show:

Loganair (Flybe) (Glasgow) flight BE 6821 to Glasgow on January 2 did not operate as planned. According to this BBC report, the Flybe flight, operated with a SAAB 340B (G-LGNL, msn 246) with 25 passengers and three crew members, was caught in a crosswind as it was attempting to take off. The SAAB 340B, after lifting off the runway, veered left and came to rest off the runway. Two passengers were taken to the hospital and two others received minor injuries according to the report but declined medical assistance.

Loganair is a Flybe franchise and operates under the Flybe brand.

Stornoway is a town on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Stornoway is the largest town in the Western Isles and often receives stiff winds from the adjacent Atlantic Ocean.

The airline issued this short statement:

On departure from Stornoway Airport the 8.30 am flight BE 6821 for Glasgow left the runway during take off. The SAAB 340 aircraft was carrying 25 passengers and three crew members.

All passengers and crew were safely evacuated and returned to the airport’s terminal. Two passengers sustained minor injuries and have gone to the local hospital. A full investigation is now underway to ascertain the cause of the incident and the Air Accident Investigation Branch has been notified.

Read the full BBC report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Sister-ship SAAB 340B G-LGNF (msn 192) taxies at Glasgow with the special “Serving Scotland for 50 Years 1962-2012″ logo.

Flybe-Loganair aircraft slide show:

Route Map:

Flybe (Exeter) flight BE 202 from Manchester to Inverness landed at the Scottish airport at 10:14 am yesterday morning, January 20, before encountering ice on the runway and skidding off onto the nearby grass.

The aircraft involved was the pictured Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) registered G-JEDW (msn 4093).

None of the 47 passengers and four crewmembers were injured by the incident and all were immediately transferred to the terminal building by bus.

Temperatures of -3° were recorded around the airport following the coldest night of the year in Scotland where temperatures dropped to -12°.

A Flybe spokesman said: “Flybe can confirm that, when taxiing at low speed at the end of the runway having landed safely at Inverness Airport this morning, the wheels of the Q400 aircraft skidded on the surface of the airfield causing it to slide onto the grass.

“The 47 passengers and four crew were unharmed and exited the aircraft by the stairs for bus transfer to the terminal where they collected their luggage as normal.

“The safety of its passengers and crew is the airline’s number one priority and Flybe regrets any inconvenience experienced as a result of this incident.”

Report by Assistant Editor Oliver Wilcock from Manchester.

Read more (with photos) from the Mirror: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Keith Burton/AirlinersGallery.com. G-JEDW before its was repainted in the new livery.

Flybe aircraft slide show:

Finnair (Helsinki) has announced the sale of Flybe’s (Exeter) 60% share in Flybe Nordic has been approved. The airline issued this statement:

The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority has approved the transaction in which Flybe UK Ltd’s 60% ownership of Flybe Nordic venture will be transferred to StaffPoint Holding Ltd and G.W. Sohlberg Ltd (GWS) . The letter of intent on this transaction was announced on January 7, 2015. Upon completion of the sale, StaffPoint’s ownership in the joint venture will be 45%, GWS’s 15% and Finnair’s 40%. The transaction is expected to be closed in early February 2015.

Flybe Nordic owns fully the Finnish subsidiary Flybe Finland, which is in charge of Finnair’s regional airline operations. Flybe Finland currently operates to a number of domestic and European destinations from Helsinki on behalf of Finnair on a contract-flying basis. In addition, Flybe Finland operates to five domestic destinations as well as Tartu, Estonia and Norrköping, Sweden at its own commercial risk.

Will the Flybe Finland brand now be changed to a new name? Flybe Finland was formerly FinnComm Airlines.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Flybe Finland’s ATR 72-212A (ATR 72-500) OH-ATG (msn 757) sits on the ramp at the Helsinki (HEL) base.

Video: A time lapse full flight window view of a flight from Edinburgh to Birmingham, onboard Flybe Embraer ERJ 175 G-FBJE, operating flight BE 852 on October 31, 2014.

Flybe (Exeter) has announced 11 new routes from it’s newest base: Cardiff.

The new network connects the Welsh capital to Cork, Dublin, Edinburgh, Faro, Glasgow, Munich, Milan and Paris (CDG) and will create 50 new jobs including flight crew and ground handling staff.

The routes will be operated by two of the carrier’s Embraer ERJ 195 aircraft. One of these 118-seat aircraft will arrive at Cardiff in June and the second in September 2015.

Flybe currently operates from Cardiff to Belfast, Jersey and Dusseldorf.

Copyright Photo: SM Fitzwilliams Collection/AirlinersGallery.com. Embraer ERJ 190-200LR (ERJ 195) G-FBEM (msn 19000204) prepares to depart from Dublin.

Flybe aircraft slide show: 

Flybe (Exeter) has announced it will operate a new year round service between Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport starting on September 7. This will offer up to three flights a day departing early morning, lunchtime and late afternoons.

With the addition of this new route, Flybe’s 2015 Summer schedule features those to the Isle of Man and Belfast City offering a total choice of up to 60 flights a week.

Copyright Photo: SPA/AirlinersGallery.com. Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) G-FLBD (msn 4259) taxies at Southampton (SOU).

Flybe aircraft slide show: 

Flybe (Exeter) recently announced that it will operate a new year round service between Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport starting on September 7. The airline will offer up to three flights a day departing early morning, lunchtime and late afternoons.

Meanwhile the carrier is moving towards an all-turboprop fleet. According to this article by Travel Weekly, “The carrier is to use two of a surplus fleet of E195 jets to start services from Cardiff airport, meaning that “solutions” have been found for half the fleet of 14 aircraft as it concentrates on operating a mainly turboprop fleet.

Flybe revealed that it was in “active discussions” to find a permanent solution for the remaining seven jets.”

Meanwhile the airline is on track to break even and the revised routes from London City Airport are showing progress according to the article.

Read the full article: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Keith Burton/AirlinersGallery.com. The Embraer ERJ 195 have proved to be too large for the carrier forcing it to ground some of the E195s. The pictured ERJ 190-200LR (ERJ 195) G-FBEA (msn 19000029) at London (Gatwick) was acquired on September 1, 2006 but has since gone on to Kalstar Aviation as PK-KDA.

Flybe aircraft slide show: 

Flybe Finland (Helsinki) will become Nordic Regional Airlines in May reflecting the recent change in ownership. The name change still requires approval by the Trade Register, which is expected to take place in early May.

According to the airline’s CEO Maunu Visuri, “The new name reflects our company’s core business, i.e. the regional flying. Our goal is to continue to be a high-quality and skilled Nordic airline to offer excellent service to their customers.”

A new look will be unveiled in the early summer and the transformation will be implemented in stages during 2015.

Flybe Finland aircraft slide show: 

All images by Flybe Finland.

Flybe Group Plc (Exeter) reported a pre-tax loss for its full fiscal year of £35.6 million ($55 million) for the fiscal year ending on March 31, down from a pre-tax profit of £8.1 million ($12.5 million) for the previous fiscal year.

Flybe blamed its massive loss on having more Embraer E-Jets than it needs. It also blamed the loss of the costly disposal of its Finnish joint venture.

In other news, Flybe on June 1 opened its second base in less than a month, this time at Cardiff Airport, with passengers boarding inaugural flights to Edinburgh, Paris and Dublin as part of its extended route network that includes brand new routes to Cork, Duesseldorf, Faro, Glasgow, Munich, and Milan.

The first of the two 118-seat Embraer 195 aircraft to be based at the airport jetted into Cardiff to begin operations.

The 10-year agreement secured with Cardiff Airport creates an additional half-million extra seats for sale each year, supporting 50 new jobs that includes flight crew. Last month, Flybe opened another new two-aircraft base at Bournemouth with Bombardier Q400 aircraft.

Copyright Photo: Rob Skinkis/AirlinersGallery.com. Flybe Embraer ERJ 190-200LR (ERJ 195) G-FBEA (msn 19000029) arrives in Manchester.

Flybe aircraft slide show: 

Flybe (Exeter) is introducing an ATR 72-600 series aircraft into its fleet. The pictured G-FEXB (msn 1277) named “Eindride Viking” has been delivered to Flybe from the leasing company Avation. The ATR 72 will operate from Sweden in the livery of Flybe’s new partner in Northern Europe, Scandinavian Airlines-SAS (Stockholm).

During 2015 and 2016 Flybe will incorporate into the SAS network five new 70-seat ATR 72-600s leased from Avation. The aircraft will be based at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport from where they will serve selected SAS domestic and regional destinations. The operation of these aircraft is a result of the recently announced six-year white label partnership recently established between Flybe and SAS, Scandinavia’s largest carrier.

The new type is expected to enter service on October 25 from Stockholm (Arlanda) to Kalmar, Ronneby, Sundsvall-Härnösand, Turku and Visby according to ch-aviation.

Photo: ATR.

Flybe (exter) has issued this new video in support of its new Embraer 195 “Cancer Research UK” logo jet. The designed by Meg Clark from Kent. The company issued this statement:

Flybe unveiled a special birthday surprise to Meg Clark from Kent who won the airlines UK-wide art competition held in support of its charity partner, Cancer Research UK Kids & Teens. Meg’s winning entry has been transferred on to the airline’s first purple branded Embraer 195 jet!

Accompanied by her family, Meg – who coincidentally also celebrated her fifth birthday on the same day – thought she was just heading to Flybe’s Exeter HQ for a simple presentation ceremony and hangar visit to celebrate winning a family holiday for four to any Flybe destination of choice.

Flybe CEO, Saad Hammad, said: “We wanted to do something extra special to support our charity partner’s campaign which aims to find cures and kinder treatments for children and young people living with cancer.

Top Copyright Photo: Arnd Wolf/AirlinersGallery.com. Embraer ERJ 190-200LR (ERJ 195) G-FBEM (msn 19000204) passed through Munich today in the new livery.

Flybe aircraft slide show: 

Video:

Flybe has announced it will discontinue all service to Sumburgh Airport in Shetland on January 8, 2018 due to “disapointing numbers”.

Flybe teamed up with Eastern Airways to compete against its former partner Loganair on September 1, 2017 to Sumburgh in the Shetland Islands.

Copyright Photo: Eastern Airways Embraer ERJ 170-100LR G-CIXV (msn 17000111) ZRH (Andi Hiltl). Image: 938211.

Eastern Airways:

Route Map: Flybe’s routes to Shetland.