flybe. (2002) (Exeter) is planning to begin operations out of London Heathrow The Sunday Times newspaper has reported.
Sources said the carrier is looking to use British Airways' slots, relinquished by Virgin Atlantic (VS, London Heathrow) on the winding up of its Little Red brand last year, to offer domestic UK flights in competition to British Airways (BA, London Heathrow) itself. Currently British Airways is the only carrier to offer domestic UK connectivity out of Heathrow serving Aberdeen Dyce, Belfast City, Edinburgh, Glasgow International, Inverness, Leeds/Bradford, Manchester, and Newcastle International. The carrier has been obligated to offer Heathrow slots to competitors as part of the European Commission's approval of its takeover of bmi british midland (Nottingham East Midlands) in 2012.
Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd (HAHL) last year unveiled a series of measures to encourage more local UK airports to connect with the London gateway. They included: a revision of airport charges for domestic routes as well as the establishment of the Heathrow Route Development Fund which would have GBP10 million (USD13.5 million) in start-up capital. Money from the fund is to be used to assist airlines in the setting up and development of new domestic routes.
For its part, flybe. is the UK's largest domestic operator serving thirty-three destinations across the country from bases at Aberdeen Dyce, Belfast City, Birmingham, GB, Cardiff, Doncaster/Sheffield, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow Int'l, Manchester, and Southampton. It operates a fleet of sixty-nine DHC-8-400s, eleven E175s, nine E195s, and four ATR72-600s.
