A new strategy and aircraft type for Flybe / Loganair's new Norwich base

[WestCoast]

From this month, Flybe will be changing its strategy at Norwich. It's initially handing over two routes to franchise partner Loganair, who will be basing one/two 31-seater Dornier 328s in Norwich. These aircraft were acquired through Loganair's purchase of Suckling Airways (formerly ScotAirways) and will be flown on Suckling Airways' Air Operators Certificate.

Here's the aircraft type in Flybe's livery.

The first two routes are Norwich to Manchester and Exeter and both will see a significant frequency increase. This will be followed by new routes in the Summer. The most interesting is Norwich to Southampton, operated on a once weekly basis, designed for cruise passengers. Norwich to the Isle of Man will be operated once weekly and Norwich to Newquay will be operated twice weekly.

I thought this was highly relevant as the only competition on those routes is ground transport.

Any thoughts?

 

[johnnychips]

I thought this was highly relevant as the only competition on those routes is ground transport.

Any thoughts?

Certainly the journey from Manchester to Norwich is a stressful epic, both by road and rail, though the increased carriages between Manchester and Nottingham may relieve this a bit. Any idea how much the plane is?

 

[WestCoast]

Certainly the journey from Manchester to Norwich is a stressful epic, both by road and rail, though the increased carriages between Manchester and Nottingham may relieve this a bit. Any idea how much the plane is?

The tickets for this route start at around £45.00 one way including taxes but excluding baggage fee (that may not be applicable as luggage is generally free on Loganair). Catering is free onboard Loganair.

There will be 3 - 4 daily flights taking around 45 - 50 minutes.

 

[richw]

Newquay to norwich May appeal to me, have relatives near norwich, and absolutely hate the drive up, newquay is 20 mins or so from me

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using Tapatalk

 

[WestCoast]

Newquay to norwich May appeal to me, have relatives near norwich, and absolutely hate the drive up, newquay is 20 mins or so from me

I suspect Newquay will prove to be a popular route in the Summer.

 

[starrymarkb]

Flybe ran Exeter to Norwich a few years ago, the loadings were good (it's a 5-6 hour trip by rail) but I'm not sure why they withdrew it in the end.

 

[Oracle]

Norwich to Southampton sounds a nice idea. However, as cruise liners depart all the time, one flight a week seems inadequate to me.

 

[Schnellzug]

They don't seem to anticipate a lot of demand for cruise passengers from Norwich, offering one ~ 30 seat plane once a week.
Didn't ScotAirways used to be owned by brian Souter, publicity-conscious boss of Stagecoach, at one time?

 

[WestCoast]

Didn't ScotAirways used to be owned by brian Souter, publicity-conscious boss of Stagecoach, at one time?

Yes, in 1999 Souter and his sister purchased a 90% stake in Suckling Airways and it was then that the firm was renamed. They sold this back to the original founders in 2006.

They had a hub at London City for a while, with services to all the popular business destinations. However, they had too much competition, so they became a franchise partner of CityJet (but this later finished). They also operated for Channel Islands based Blue Islands.

Then they were purchased by Loganair last year