The “new” Flybe launched ticket sales and revealed the first 16 cities to be connected from its bases in Belfast City (BHD), Birmingham (BHX), and London/Heathrow (LHR).
Following its collapse in 2020, the company is being reborn with the aim of reconnecting the UK domestic market and lower demand destinations on De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 aircraft.
“We believe our new flights will benefit everyone who wants low fares and more flights to go on vacation and visit loved ones,” said Dave Pflieger, CEO of Flybe.
“Our new network will also ensure better regional connectivity within the U.K. and between various regions of the U.K. and the EU,” he added.
The company’s first flight will be on April 13 between Belfast and Birmingham, and the following day it will connect Belfast with Glasgow.
At the end of April it will land at Leeds/Bradford (LBA) and London/Heathrow (LHR) from Belfast; Amsterdam (AMS) in the Netherlands from Birmingham and from that Dutch city to East Midland (EMA).
Between May and June, they will add three links connecting Amsterdam with London/Heathrow and Belfast.
“Flybe is showing its commitment to the Midlands. It will base three Q400 aircraft at its home base here at Birmingham Airport and we expect to see this increase to five Q400s from August,” continued Pflieger.
As part of the summer season, in July they will land at Manchester (MAN), Edinburgh (EDI), and Southampton (SOU) in the UK; and Brest (BES), Avignon (AVN), and Toulon Hyère (TLN) in France.
Finally, in August there will be flights to Aberdeen (ABZ), Inverness (IVN), and Newcastle (NCN). With them, the airline will be reaching 16 cities that will be served in this first stage.
| Routes | Start | Frequencies | Competitor | Passengers carried in 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast City (BHD) - Birmingham (BHX) | April 13 | up to 4 flights per day | Aer Lingus Regional | 269.559 |
| Belfast City (BHD) - Glasgow (GLA) | April 14 | up to 4 flights per day | Aer Lingus Regional | 141.897 |
| Belfast City (BHD) -Leeds/Bradford (LBA) | April 28 | up to 3 flights per day | Aer Lingus Regional | 155.918 |
| Belfast City (BHD) - Londres/Heathrow (LHR) | April 28 | up to 2 flights per day | Aer Lingus Regional, British Airways | 668.575 |
| Ámsterdam (AMS), Países Bajos - Birmingham (BHX) | April 28 | daily | Easyjet, Jet2, KLM | 701.737 |
| Ámsterdam (AMS), Países Bajos - East Midlands (EAM) | April 28 | daily | 48.462 | |
| Leeds/Bradford (LBA) - Londres/Heathrow (LHR) | April 28 | up to 3 flights per day | 100.189 | |
| Ámsterdam (AMS), Países Bajos - Belfast City (BHD) | May 28 | daily | KLM | 52.329 |
| Ámsterdam (AMS), Países Bajos - Londres/Heathrow (LHR) | May 28 | up to 2 flights per day | British Airways, KLM | 1.748.216 |
| Belfast City (BHD) - Edimburgo (EDI) | June 23 | up to 3 flights per day | Aer Lingus Regional | 151.512 |
| Belfast City (BHD) - East Midland (EMA) | July 7 | up to 2 flights per day | 139.091 | |
| Belfast City (BHD) - Manchester (MAN) | July 7 | up to 4 flights per day | Aer Lingus Regional | 275.852 |
| Birmingham (BHX) - Brest (BES), Francia | July 9 | weekly | 1.144 | |
| Birmingham (BHX) - Avignon (AVN), Francia | July 9 | weekly | 1.735 | |
| Southampton (SOU) - Avignon (AVN), Francia | July 23 | weekly | 2.192 | |
| Southampton (SOU) - Toulon Hyères (TLN) , Francia | July 24 | weekly | 2.144 | |
| Southampton (SOU) - Belfast (BHD) | July 28 | up to 2 flights per day | Eastern Airways | 117.406 |
| Birmingham (BHD) - Edimburgo (EDI) | July 28 | up to 4 flights per day | Easyjet | 265.832 |
| Birmingham (BHD) - Glasgow (GLA) | July 28 | up to 3 flights per day | Easyjet | 229.991 |
| Belfast City (BHD) - Aberdeen (ABZ) | August 18 | daily | Loganair | |
| Birmingham (BHX) - Aberdeen (ABZ) | August 25 | 4 weekly | Loganair | |
| Belfast City (BHD) -Inverness (INV) | August 25 | 4 weekly | Loganair | 32.897 |
| Belfast City (BHD) -Newcastle (NCL) | August 25 | daily |
A brief history of the new Flybe
The collapse of Flybe in March 2020 was the UK’s third major airline loss since the demise of Monarch Airlines and Thomas Cook. The company was one of the largest regional airlines in the UK market. It counted 210 links in 15 countries, carrying some 9.5 million passengers a year.
In a surprising twist, in April 2021 the UK Civil Aviation Authority granted a new license to what will be the resurgent Flybe after it was acquired by Thyme Opco last year.
Many of its rivals have taken over its routes when it ceased operations in 2020. For instance: Aurigny Air Services, Blue Islands, Eastern Airways, Loganair, and the new Aer Lingus Regional via Emerald Airlines.
The four carriers currently cover 2.4% of the international routes vacated by Flybe and 43.6% in terms of domestic links. (Source: Cirium)
