News: Flybe take on Inverness to Belfast flights
Flights > News > # 968 (20/09/2006)
Flybe will replace Easyjet on the Inverness to Belfast route this winter.
Easyjet are axing their flights between Inverness and Belfast International on October 29, with regional specialists Flybe planning to offer four flights a week from Belfast City to Inverness from December 16.
Flybe’s chief commercial officer, Mike Rutter, said there is a clear demand for flights from Inverness to Belfast. He added: “Easyjet’s decision to cancel this service has left many Highland travellers disappointed. Flybe recognises the clear consumer demand for a direct link from the Scottish Highlands to Belfast and we’re delighted to step in.”
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p>Let's hope that this is the start of many new routes into the Highland capital from Flybe. Of course, we don't want to come over as being too biased towards one particular airline, but Flybe and Inverness are a natural match.
Flybe have a huge advantage in this market because they use small, super-efficient turboprop aircraft and can therefore operate higher frequencies than most of their rivals. Currently, the main airline operating flights from regional airports to Inverness is Eastern Airways, who now have routes there from Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds Bradford and Newcastle. Yet, Eastern are not a budget airline - their Inverness flights rarely dip below £100 return - and their services are aimed more at business users and wealthier leisure passengers than at bargain hunters. Flybe's operating costs and ticket prices are much lower than Eastern's, enabling them to attract far more potential passengers onto their routes.
Flybe have been rumoured to have been interested in Inverness for a long time, so we would expect to see them launch a north-south route (e.g. Inverness to Southampton) fairly soon. Their next logical move would be to compete with Eastern flights from Birmingham to Inverness, where the incumbent now operates three flights each day.
Easyjet pioneered the low cost revolution for flights from London to Scotland, but Inverness is never going to be able to generate the kind of frequencies Edinburgh and Glasgow attract from all corners of the UK. Despite Inverness being one of Easyjet's earlier destinations, the airline still only offers a single daily flight each from Luton and Gatwick. Did they really expect daily flights from Belfast to Inverness to work, especially considering that they were using the same sized aircraft?
Inverness is certainly growing, and this trend is set to continue, but airlines have to provide the right service at the right time in order to make routes work. Next month, Ryanair start daily flights from Liverpool to Inverness, a move which looks almost as ambitious as Easyjet's Belfast route. Looking at the current prices for October, they are still very low, which would suggest there are plenty of seats available, so it will be interesting to see how long these flights last. Ryanair are known to like using short flights like this in order to maximise the usage of their aircraft, but they also need the peaks in demand in order to generate enough revenue to make the route profitable.
