News

Flybe expands UK Southwest to Paris market

13 Apr 2006 by business traveller

Flybe is claiming credit for a significant expansion in passenger numbers between the Southwest of England and Paris.A year ago the budget carrier inaugurated twice daily flights between Exeter and Paris CDG. In that time, says a Flybe spokesperson "we've grown the market between the Southwest [both Exeter and Bristol airports] and Paris CDG by 52%".

Besides tapping business from the Exeter area market, it appears Flybe has attracted passengers from BA Connect's rival service from nearby Bristol.According to industry sources the passenger market between Bristol and Paris is static. Indeed sources state that numbers actually declined slightly over the past year. Although BA Connect operates five flights a day at convenient timings it uses 49-seater Embraers. These planes are costly to operate and fares tend to be high because there are only a handful of cheap seats on every flight.

Flybe operates more economical 78-seater Dash8-400 turbo-props allowing the airline to charge lower fares and with greater low fare availability. Says the spokesperson, "They offer the speed of one of our larger BAe146 jets but not the capacity." Both Exeter and Bristol are around 285 miles from Paris. The Dash8's flight time is only five or 10 minutes longer than with the Embraer.

When Business Traveller compared the cost of flying from Bristol and Exeter to Paris CDG over the next fortnight there was a significant price difference between the two routes.

Last Tuesday (April 11) for travel to Paris on April 18 and returning April 21, BA Connect was quoting £537 online for peak and £322 for off-peak flights. By comparison, the online rates with Flybe from Exeter varied between £187 and £147 respectively. Flybe flies only at peak times.

For travel to Paris during the week following (out April 24, back April 28) BA Connect wanted £349 and £237 whereas Flybe's prices were between £135 and £86.

It would seem that some would-be users of Bristol are voting with their wallet. Depending on where they are based in relation to Bristol airport (which is located southwest of the city) Paris-bound travellers are opting for more economical flights with Flybe from Exeter, Bmibaby (who flies from Cardiff in Wales) or they are heading down the M4 to Heathrow for British Airways, Bmi or Air France.

A spokesperson for BA Connect said the carrier has started offering lower fares from Bristol for a limited period. Aimed at leisure travellers the deal sees BA Connect making 12,500 one-way seats available at its lowest price of £71 return. But the lowest fares are hard to find unless you book to travel many weeks ahead. The deal ends on April 21 although travel is allowed until October 31.

In other news, Flybe hopes to replicate the success of its Exeter service in East Anglia. It will start a daily Norwich-Paris service on May 25.

For more information go to flybe.comba.com/flytoparis

Report by Alex McWhirter

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