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Flybe ‘benefits as travellers switch from rail’
Travellers switching from rail to air have contributed to a 27% rise in passengers flown by Flybe in December.
The airline claimed the year on year increase reflected a growing trend in domestic travellers choosing to go by air rather than take the train and came as average rail fares went up by 4%.
Strong Christmas volumes helped push up the December numbers to more than 350,000 passengers.
Leeds-Bradford showed the largest year-on-year growth with a 71% increase. Exeter recorded 60% rise compared with the same period last year. The increase in passenger figures at the two airports was driven by new routes and increases in frequency. At other bases good organic growth led to the overall percentage improvement, the airline said.
Chief commercial officer Mike Rutter said: “Our sales have remained strong showing excellent year-on-year growth despite a challenging consumer environment.
“We have outperformed most low-cost carriers in the market, and we are looking to maintain the upward trend in passenger numbers through 2006 by improving the services we provide to our customers as we challenge and change the way flights are delivered.”
He added: “With train companies seeing it as their right to aggressively increase fares on an annual basis and in no relation to inflation or to improvements in service, the low cost airline industry is benefiting directly with a strong rise in passenger numbers, particularly across domestic routes.”
Flybe offers 82 domestic routes from 19 airports operating 96,000 flights a year.
Report by Phil Davies
The airline’s chief commercial officer Mike Rutter said: “With train companies seeing it as their right to aggressively increase fares on an annual basis and in no relation to inflation or to improvements in service, the low cost airline industry is benefiting directly with a strong rise in passenger numbers, particularly across domestic routes.”
Flybe offers 82 domestic routes from 19 airports operating 96,000 flights a year.
Report by Phil Davies
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