FLYBE has hit back in the inter-airline price war that erupted on Friday. Market development general manager Ian Taylor, pictured right, denied that Blue Islands would offer a better deal on its new route to Southampton.
‘It is perhaps a situation where new entrants believe they can do better than the existing operator,’ said Mr Taylor.
‘We are very confident in our brand and believe our overall fare offerings are very attractive to clients.’
Battle lines were drawn after Blue Islands won the right to fly to the south coast city following a hearing last week before Commerce and Employment.
Chairman Derek Coates had claimed his airline could offer fully flexible fares for approximately half the cost of Flybe.
He said the best next-day return to Southampton found on the internet was £337, while the cheapest two weeks later was £263.
Blue Islands would provide return flights for between £150 and £170. ‘From the prices quoted by Blue Islands, our average fare on the Southampton route will be half that they are purporting to offer,’ said Mr Taylor.
Flybe had opposed the original Blue Islands application for the route. Mr Taylor maintained that that had been in response to Blue Islands and Aurigny going against amendments to its Jersey service.
At the hearing, Flybe’s solicitor Richard Venables had claimed it was illogical to argue that competition on one route would be good, while saying another carrier on the inter-island service would be bad.
‘We opposed it because we saw the two applications and objections were linked,’ said Mr Taylor.
‘We’re not against competition at all and we welcome what is a further move towards an open skies policy.’
Article posted on 4th April, 2007 - 12.00am
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