If I book with Flybe, will my flight be guaranteed?
Q I am looking to book a flight with Flybe from Southend to Groningen in April. With Flybe in the process of being taken over by Virgin Atlantic and Stobart Air, would my booking be guaranteed to still take place under the new airline or could they just cancel it?
Gary M
A Southend has an impressive network of flights in the colours of Flybe. Some constitute useful access to key business cities for the east London/south Essex catchment area, such as flights to Dublin and Cologne. Others are precious links to places which would be off the UK flight map were it not for the Southend connection – and Groningen, the main city in northeast Netherlands, is among them (as is Rennes in northwest France).
A key word in the first sentence is: “in the colours of Flybe”. It suits a number of small, independent carriers to be branded as Flybe, and to take advantage of the carrier’s reservations system and marketing reach.
The planes to Groningen are actually operated by Stobart Air, the regional airline part of the Stobart conglomeration. Further, Southend airport is owned by Stobart Air. So there’s a picture building up of enthusiasm on the part of the firm for links from Southend. Indeed, the rescue bid for Flybe by Virgin Atlantic and Stobart Air (plus an American hedge fund) included statements of each partner’s interests: Virgin wants regional feed into its hubs in Manchester and Heathrow, while Stobart is intent on building up Southend. So in time we will see more flights from Southend, not fewer.
More widely, even on Flybe’s own route network there should be no immediate restructuring. The chief executive has assured me that the summer’s programme will continue as booked.
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