All that for an indirect outward flight on a crummy little Bombardier propeller plane.
The aforementioned Bombardiers are incredibly uncomfortable and the landing in high winds frankly scary.
The flights nearly all stop at Guernsey so you don’t even get a direct flight for your hefty fare.
The leg room is so tight that it is impossible to read a broadsheet newspaper in flight.
There isn’t sufficient space in the overhead lockers for perfectly normal-sized cabin bags that can be accommodated by any decent airline, barring perhaps Yeti Airlines in Nepal.
The planes are too titchy to be reached by an air bridge so you have to negotiate 36 steps down on the outward journey and back on the return (I counted them).
Also Flybe have economised by not bothering with a departure gate lounge so now passengers have to walk straight onto a bus, having presented their ID at a desk by the door, upon which we wait interminably for all the passengers who don’t know that the departure gate is a long walk from the main lounge at Birmingham International, and then trundle for ages as the Flybe plane is invariably parked at the furthest possible point from the departure gate, no doubt a further economy for Flybe.
Oh, and last but by no means least, the punctuality rate is appalling.
I am not exaggerating when I say most of my Flybe flights are delayed, always due to ‘operational’ reasons which means that they haven’t got their act together.
My views are shared by everyone I speak to who has to travel from the Midlands.
What I would like to know is why do Flybe apparently hold a monopoly on flights from Birmingham and indeed Manchester. I think the same applies to Bristol. Could not Islanders and their visitors have a choice and access to cheap flights such as are available to all parts of the continent from the mainland?
Jersey is beautiful and my family and I love it, but come the sad day when we no longer have a compelling reason to visit we will find ourselves a holiday destination with affordable flights and more reliable weather!
