In a surprise move Flybe says its Newquay to London route is being transferred from Gatwick to Heathrow from April next year.

It means that Cornwall will now gain a multitude of new global links which will benefit travellers both to and from the region.

The move is also being discussed on our forum here.

At the time of writing it is unclear how Flybe was able to obtain the slots at Heathrow.

It is highly unlikely the cash-strapped airline, which is currently for sale, would have been able to afford any of them (each Heathrow slot pair typically costs between US$25 and US$75 million).

The Newquay-London Gatwick route is currently being subsidised under what’s termed a PSO (public service obligation) and this agreement will continue with Newquay-London Heathrow.

Flybe will no longer operate between Newquay and London Gatwick.

The Exeter-based carrier says that travellers who have booked on the above route for travel after March 30 “will be contacted and offered the opportunity to have their flight transferred from Gatwick to Heathrow.”

It also means that those travellers who have already booked to interline at London Gatwick will have to reconsider their travel plans.

The addition of Heathrow services follows on from Flybe’s recent announcement that it is to launch Newquay services from London’s Southend airport.

Provisional flight schedules to and from Heathrow are shown below.  It’s expected the aircraft type will be the Q400 turbo-prop.

Newquay to London Heathrow

  • BE801 Newquay-London Heathrow 0720-0830
  • BE803 Newquay-London Heathrow 1055-120
  • BE805 Newquay-London Heathrow 1430-1540
  • BE807 Newquay-London Heathrow 1845-1955

London Heathrow to Newquay

  • BE802 London Heathrow-Newquay 0915-1025
  • BE804 London Heathrow-Newquay 1245-1355
  • BE806 London Heathrow-Newquay 1620-1730
  • BE808 London Heathrow-Newquay 2040-2150

At the time of writing the above schedules were still not displayed on Flybe’s website, and are therefore subject to change.  But the situation may have changed by the time you read these words – bookings are expected to be available by the end of this month.

flybe.com