United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
Flybe to sell cruises online
Flybe is to use its strength at Southampton as a trigger for selling cruises online.
The airline has forged a partnership with cruise retailer Voyana to create a dedicated website www.Flybecruise.com.
The site goes live on January 22 in a two-year deal with Voyana for an unspecified six-figure sum.
Cruise lines to be featured include P&O Cruises, Cunard and Royal Caribbean, which all sail from Southampton.
The airline claims to be the first in the UK to offer this type of holiday platform, enabling travellers flying into Southampton from any of its 33 bases to depart direct for cruises to Western Europe, Canary Islands, The Caribbean, Baltic and Norwegian Fjords transatlantic.
Marketing director Simon Lilley said: “The cruise market is discreet and therefore with our dominance into Southampton tapping into this growing customer base will provide an added dimension.
“This is not a move back to package holidays, this is synergy of two dominant travel industries in one region. Forty per cent of cruise passengers out of Southampton live in a Flybe catchment area across the UK and therefore Flybe offer the ideal vehicle to commence their journey.”
Voyanan managing director Mark Van Straten claimed partnership was “one of the most significant developments for the cruise industry in recent years”.
He said: “It is a fantastic opportunity to partner with a major airline to find a new and relatively untapped cruise market through significant online distribution.
“This is the first time we’ve sold cruises online through a travel partner. We anticipate this introducing us to a more widespread and mainstream audience which is critical as our business evolves.”
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
Mark Jaronski of Explore Georgia on FIFA World Cup 2026
Connecting Small Businesses to Global Tourism Markets: Nate Huff of Tourism Exchange
North Carolina’s Resilience: Wit Tuttell on Recovery and Tourism
Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns
James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel
Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination
Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics
Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy
Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene
Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee
Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail
Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats
BA suspending all Heathrow to Abu Dhabi flights
Turkish Airlines flight in emergency landing after pilot dies
Unexpected wave rocks cruise ship
Woman dies after going overboard in English Channel
Foreign Office issues travel advisory for winter sun destinations