British low-cost regional airline, Flybe, is planning to increase capacity on key routes at Birmingham airport and is set to announce new routes at the airport soon, Routes News has reported.
The airline will increase flights from Birmingham to Hanover, Milan-Malpensa and Stuttgart to twice daily from March 30. It will also operate an extra Saturday service to Stuttgart. With the changes, Flybe will operate up to 680 flights a week this summer from Birmingham, on 24 routes.
Flybe also said that it would deploy an 88-seat Embraer 175 jet aircraft on ‘the majority’ of its Hanover and Stuttgart services. It previously operated a 78-seat Q400 turboprop on the routes.
Paul Simmons, Flybe’s chief commercial officer said: ‘These new flights reflect the increasing focus that Flybe is putting on Birmingham International Airport.
‘We are continually looking for ways in which we can expand and improve our network and look forward to announcing soon some exciting new Flybe routes from Birmingham very shortly,’ he added.
The airline reportedly said that ‘plans are well advanced for even more new routes, with a significant announcement expected shortly’. It has previously said that Newquay in Cornwall will be joining its Birmingham network this summer.
Additionally, on January 13, Flybe was given a license to fly from Guernsey to Luton Airport by the Commerce and Employment Department, but a spokesperson said the airline had ‘no plans to start a schedule to Luton this summer.’
The announcements come as the regional carrier undertakes a comprehensive strategic review. In November the airline announced plans to close six bases as part of its cost-cutting plan. Bases at Aberdeen, Guernsey, Inverness, Isle of Man, Jersey and Newcastle are due to close, as the airline looks to save GBP85m over the next few years. The company said that it would be reducing its workforce by 500.
Exeter, Devon-based Flybe operates over 180 routes to 65 European airports and carried over seven million passengers during 2013.
