flybayThe UK’s regional airline has ground to a second halt – with hundreds of job losses leaving travel plans The condition of thousands of passengers is critical.
This news was broken at 4 am on Saturday Civil Aviation AuthorityWhich is urging passengers booking on Flybe not to go to the airport.
Remind me of the original Flybe?
The original Flybe, previously known as Jersey European and British European, was enormously successful for several decades – it was briefly worth a quarter of a billion pounds when it floated on the stock exchange in 2010. But a combination of mismanagement and bad luck resulted in a £100m rescue bid.
Flybe burned through that cash in a year after the Mark 1 went bust early March 2020, at the start of the Covid pandemic. More than 2,000 people lost their jobs and travel plans of thousands of passengers with advance bookings were thrown out of whack.
How was the airline revived?
Cyrus Capital, one of the partners in that failed rescue bid, believed that was still a viable business. It bought the name from the receiver and importantly also secured valuable slots at London Heathrow. The reborn Flybe was re-established at Birmingham Airport, with a major operation in Belfast City, and links from Heathrow Airport to many UK destinations as well as to Amsterdam.
Flight data specialist Cerium says Flybe was set to serve 17 destinations in the UK and Europe in 2023 – with Belfast City, Birmingham and London Heathrow being the biggest destinations for flights.
The airline operated seven daily flights to Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, Amsterdam, Belfast, Newcastle and Newquay.
Next week Flybe was scheduled to operate 292 flights – the equivalent of more than 22,700 seats.
What went wrong?
Relatively few of those seats were sold at prices high enough to make the flybay viable. Operations resume in April 2022. But by then rivals had moved on to previously profitable routes logan Securing the crown as the UK’s largest regional airline leaves little room for Flybe.
The Flybe Mark 2’s nine months of existence were characterized by frequent flight cancellations and rearrangements of the route network, with late aircraft deliveries adding to the problem.
On the flights that did operate, passenger loads were often very low: I flew from Leeds Bradford to Heathrow, as it was much cheaper than the train, yet there were only a dozen paying passengers on board.
With intense competition on most of its route networks, Flybe was not a concern. Airline schedule analyst Sean Moulton said: “While I’m sorry for Flybe’s staff, this appeared to be inevitable. The Q400 aircraft had problems, there was competition on most of the routes they operated and their brand was tarnished by the collapse in 2020 .
“All of this was a recipe for failure.”
What is the advice for passengers with Flybe tickets?
Do not go to the airport until you have made arrangements for an alternate flight.
Will other operators help?
Yes. Rival airlines are already providing “rescue fares” to enable those who have tickets on future Flybe flights.
For passengers booked to fly till February 5, easyJet is offering fares from £49 for domestic routes and £79 for international routes, including a 15kg hold bag on presentation of their original Flybe booking reference. Passengers have to call 0330 551 5151.
British Airways London Heathrow is offering a one-way fare of £50 (plus taxes, fees and charges), including checked-in bags of up to 23kg, on journeys between Belfast City, Newcastle and Amsterdam. Potential passengers should call 0344 493 0787.
Ryanair Belfast has been focusing on passengers arriving and departing since late March. Rescue fares start from £30 in the East Midlands, Manchester and London Stansted for travel from Sunday 26 March.
Can I get my money back?
maybe. Refunds will not come automatically; You have to apply, but it should be a straightforward process. Banks will be expecting a flood of claims
If you paid more than £100 in one transaction, the credit card issuer has a legal duty to refund you under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. This makes the card issuer jointly liable with the merchant, in this case Flybe, for the provision of the service. But even if you’ve used a debit card, or credit card, for less than £100, the “chargeback” process will work in your favor.
In this context, with the airline no longer a concern, chargeback means the bank is refunding you the money you spent on a service that has not or will not be provided. This is a voluntary rather than mandatory arrangement, but all major UK card issuers have signed up for it.
Most banks make this straightforward. For example, Barclaycard suggests you go online, search for Payments, and click “Assist with this transaction.” Santander also recommends online claims. Other providers may ask you to phone in.
Travelers booking through agents need to check what the agent is offering. The Civil Aviation Authority says: “They may have provided travel insurance which includes scheduled airline failure cover.”
I booked through an online travel agent…
In that case you may face a struggle – especially if the agent is located overseas. For example, Mytrip – based in Sweden – tells travelers: “Once the airline has confirmed that you will receive a refund, we will refund the amount as your original payment.”
Apparently Flybe isn’t going to confirm refunds to anyone. Independent has asked MyTrip (which is part of the same group as FlightNetwork and GoToGate) what it intends to do about refunding passengers booked with Flybe.
What about employees?
This is very sad news for the several hundred people employed by Flybe – but unlike in March 2020, when we were at the beginning of a pandemic that will bring airlines to their knees and trigger tens of thousands of job losses, aviation has There is enthusiasm at the moment and there will be a lot of demand from other airlines.
British Airways and EasyJet have already invited Flybe staff to apply for the jobs, while Wizz Air UK is planning an online recruitment event at 1pm on 1st Monday 30 January, as well as 3 and 4 February is planning a “live” recruitment drive in Birmingham at 9am.
David Pike, Joint Administrator, said: “We will provide support to those affected by redundancy, including supporting them to claim the Redundancy Payment Service.
“We will help employees gain access to important records and information such as training records.”
Can Flybe Come Back?
Probably not. David Pike, Managing Director of Interpath Advisory and Joint Administrator of Flybe, “We intend to preserve the scaled-back elements of the operating platform for the short term, so that the hedge transaction remains open.
“If any interested parties wish to revive the airline, I would encourage them to come forward and get in touch with the utmost urgency.”
But vigorous efforts were made to sell Flybe before the airline was shut down, without success. If there were no takers for a going concern, it’s hard to see a buyer taking over a brand that the public has seen twice in less than three years.
I still owe money for a flight that was delayed or canceled by Flybe. Will I get my cash?
Almost certainly not. The carrier earned the nickname “flymebe” because of its frequent cancellations, and is believed to owe tens – possibly hundreds of thousands – of pounds under European air passengers’ rights rules.
You can lodge a claim with the administrators by emailing flybecustomers@interpathadvisory.com and explaining your situation. It may be that they can charge a few pence out of every pound you give. But in your position, I’m afraid I’d forgive the loan.
Are other airlines at risk?
No. UK regional flying has always been marginal, but strong demand has other carriers in good stead. Ryanair has also announced profits of £2m a day in the difficult last three months of the year.
Will Airfare Increase With Flybe Gone?
Slightly, yes, on routes where Flybe provided competition – often at much lower fares. Choice will also be reduced, which will be particularly relevant at Belfast City Airport. But the overall impact would be modest, as Flybe was still a minor player.