Flybe > Reviews > First impressions are good

Author's product rating:   

Food Quality	Good
Customer Service	Friendly and attentive
Punctuality	Good
Space	Comfortable
Value for Money	Satisfactory

Advantages:	Professional staff, no fuss, rewards programme
Disadvantages:	Bit pricey, old planes, add ons

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

In the last few years the 'no frills' budget airlines have allowed us all to take advantage of cheaper flights. City breaks in Europe are now within easy reach financially & many have people have taken advantage of weekend retreats in Europe close to an airport thanks to regular air services that are within budget. It was a 'wake up' call for the likes of British Airways on how for so many years they were ripping us all off on the cost of short haul flights.

I have used Easy Jet for many years & sometimes Ryan Air; they both provide a fairly good service at a decent price with good time keeping. When everything goes well we praise their efforts & when everything goes wrong we claim 'you only get what you pay for'. Fortunately most times everything goes to plan but when things do go wrong they aren't the easiest of companies to deal with.

Recently I need to visit Belfast on work related business & decided to use FlyBe for the first time. This is a company who has been extending their network of routes in recent years & I never hear anything bad about them. Currently they fly 165 routes over Europe from 53 airports, in the UK that includes Aberdeen, Belfast City, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Derry, Doncaster, Dundee, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Inverness, Isle of Man, Jersey & Guernsey, Kirkwall, Leeds, Liverpool, London Gatwick, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle, Newquay, Norwich, Southampton, Scottish Western Isles, Sumburgh & Wick.

Things didn't get off to a good start, I accessed their web site & entered my itinerary, within seconds I had a price of £33.56 for a return flight from Aberdeen to Belfast 'George Best' City airport.
Next up was booking my seat, which is a better arrangement than the 'free for all' with EasyJet. After I booked it I then realised that cost me an extra £6.00, never mind that is only £39.56.

Next up was the baggage check in, I wouldn't be charged for hand luggage provided it was within their limits but anything that went through the hold required an extra £12.00!
I normally travel very light, I even cut my toothbrush in half to save weight & squeeze all the toothpaste out of the tube! However I really didn't fancy storing my Tellytubbies jimjams in a brief case with my lap top & having it all dragged out at security from some eager security person, so £12.00 it was then. We are now up to £51.56!

Thinking that was all they were going to squeeze out of me I was wrong, next was the final total which added their service & taxes, that alone was £66.00! My modest little charge of £33.56 had now leapt to £117.56. As the company was paying I proceeded to pay for it & used my credit card. Yes, you guessed it that will be another £5.00; my total was now £122.56. Where would it all end? Would they charge me for using their website, or sending me an email confirmation?
So, £122.56 it was, could I avoid paying for the seat & just stand?

After that, things did improve, FlyBe aren't so demanding as EasyJet & Ryan Air, no constant reminders that you need to arrive on time & when you arrive two minutes before check in time they won't check you in!! No writing all personal & hotel details on a luggage tag for Ryan Air & informing you that they won't search for a lost bag without those details being recorded. No, FlyBe provide clear & precise instructions without sounding patronising.

I turned up at the airport one hour thirty minutes before departure, was checked in by a friendly & polite member of staff. At the time of departure it was just as efficient & once on the plane sat down in a comfortable leather seat with ample leg room close to the emergency exit. Even the seats away from the exits had slightly more leg room in 'cattle class' than most other aircraft.

The plane is of the older style propeller type, with seats laid out 2 & 2. The female staff on board looked smart & elegant & came over as very professional. We got the usual safety announcements, (they must get sick of carrying them out) & a stewardess asked me if I would take responsibility of opening the emergency exit if the plane crashes as I was sitting next to the exit.

I put on that 'cool, in control' look & told her that I would assist if there is an emergency; she looked reassured until I asked her where they kept the key! I think I lost her confidence after that!!

The journey was quick & on time, refreshments were served & charged for during the flight plus a trolley full of gifts was wheeled up the air craft for passengers who wish to buy.

Here are some of the refreshments offered, small 33cl can of soft drinks £1.50 (yes really!!), 15cl can of soft drinks 90p, bottle of water £1.60 (26p in Tesco), 5cl alcohol miniatures £3.50, 18.7cl champagne £9.00, 33cl beer £3.00, hot drinks £1.95, soup £2.50, muffin £1.50, 50g Pringles £1.10, chunky Kit Kat £1.00, sandwich & bottle of water £5.00 'meal deal' & so on.
The magazines on board were very interesting with ample information but they are bi-monthly & free to take away.
They didn't lose my luggage & the return flight was just as efficient. Once you complete your journeys & provided you register with the company they will give you reward miles, two economy flights earned me 2 reward miles, once I get to 16 I will be entitled to an economy return flight. The whole reward programme is explained on their easy to navigate website.

You can't really asses a company on one return light but my first impressions were FlyBe try that little bit harder than the other 'no fills' airlines. When things go dramatically wrong it would be interesting to see how they handle that type of situation but I have no doubt they would do quite professionally. Would I use them again or recommend them? Yes I would.