Flybe quit Manston

Flybe has said it will not be flying from Manston International Airport in Kent after March. The airline said it would cease operations there at the end of the winter season. Flybe launched its Manston to Edinburgh service in May 2010. Flybe spokesman Niall Duffy said:

"We tried different routes and the numbers simply weren't there. It's impossible to sustain routes without the passengers.

Unfortunately for the Manston services it was just impossible to look at those passenger numbers and think that we could sustain the kind of difficulties we were facing.

It is fair to say that Manston is one of the airports with the smaller catchment areas in the United Kingdom, and you have Gatwick not too far away."

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Q: What DOESN'T connect George Best, John Lennon and Robin Hood?

A: Flybe

George Best is Belfast's airport, John Lennon is Liverpool's and Robin Hood is Doncaster's. Flybe used to have scheduled flights connecting them, but that was before their share price fell through the floor after their recent profit warning.

In Charles Buchanan's position, I would be rather by worried by the second paragraph of Flybe's statement...

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Job losses at Manston Airport

Four jobs are to go at Manston Airport in a cost-cutting programme amid speculation that a new service to New York is poised for take-off. The airport, owned by New Zealand company Infratil, has been losing money on its operations and needed to cut costs to give it a more secure future.

Airport chiefs recently examined working patterns to see where cost savings could be made. This process and staff consultation has identified savings of more than £350,000 and the loss of four roles. Charles Buchanan, airport chief executive, said:

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Belfast route opens

New flights have started between Manston and Belfast's George Best airport. The first of the Flybe services arrived in Thanet at lunchtime on Thursday. Flights will run between Manston and Belfast three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. The route takes 90 minutes and will initially run for the summer, with plans to extend it if the service proves popular.

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Airport expansion could bring 3,500 jobs

New research for Manston airport owners Infratil shows that the airport could create 3,500 jobs in the local economy, but only if more flexibility is allowed for night flights. The study by aviation consultants York Aviation into the economic impact of Manston suggests it would contribute nearly £65 million a year to the local economy by 2018, if its masterplan development is realised.

The research indicates the airport would provide direct employment for 2,070 people and a further 1,035 jobs in the wider economy by 2018, on the basis of the masterplan. The findings reinforce the claims in the airport's masterplan and Infratil's vision of developing a South East regional airport that would offer scheduled passenger services, chartered flights and handling international freight.

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Nothing to smile about

The economics of the marketplace are impartial and unforgiving, grimly scything down any business models that are weak, lame or faltering.

Plenty of people want to go to Manchester, and plenty of people want to come to East Kent. Evidently, not enough people want to travel between the two. So the Manchester route failed. Within a year, we'll find out how many people want to travel between East Kent and Belfast.

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Manchester "unsustainable". Belfast "attractive"?

Flybe scraps Manchester service from Manston and launches Belfast flights

Regional airline Flybe is grounding its service between Manston and Manchester and replacing it with a new summer operation to Belfast.

The service to Northern Ireland will operate three times a week and begin on May 26. Flybe said its services between Kent International and Edinburgh were popular and would continue. However, it was suspending its Manchester service from April 4 because passenger numbers had made the flight "economically and environmentally hard to justify."

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