Flybe - Britain's largest regional low-cost airline

Flybe is the UK's no.1 regional low fare airline and is based at Exeter, with other major hubs at Birmingham, Southampton and Belfast City airports. The airline started out as Jersey European Airways, then became British European Airways in 2000, but this name was shortened to become Flybe in July 2002. About 70% of Flybe flights are UK domestic, with an especially large choice of routes to Jersey and Guernsey in the Channel Islands. European routes include major destinations in France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland.
The airline is used frequently for business trips, but is also very popular for cheap day trips and weekend breaks, for shopping, skiing or sports events, or for cheaper holidays. Flybe caried some 7.5 million passengers in 2008.

Flybe Routes and Destinations

Following the merge with former BA Connect in 2007, Flybe now covers around 190 routes from 36 UK airports, including the Channel Islands and Northern Ireland. Their huge choice of UK domestic destinations include Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Leeds/Bradford, Liverpool, London Gatwick & Luton, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Southampton and Southend-on-Sea. International routes include France (12 destinations), Germany (5 destinations), Spain (4 destinations), Switzerland (Berne, Geneva), Austria (Salzburg), Ireland (Dublin), Portugal (Faro). The majority of Flybe European flights depart from or fly via Birmingham, Manchester, Exeter and Southampton airports.
Some routes are seasonal such as winter skiing flights to Chambery, Geneva and Salzburg. Scheduled Spanish flights to Alicante, Malaga and Palma are offered from Exeter and Southampton.

For fares from £60 return including taxes see...

Flybe Flights to Jersey from Birmingham, Exeter, Gatwick, Norwich and Southampton.

Also for about £60 Exeter to Paris Flights are excellent value

Flybe Flights to Toulouse start from less than £70 from Birmingham and Bristol.

Passenger Opinions, Comments and Reviews

General opinions about FlyBe are good, however more passengers complain about higher fares and extra charges. Service and flight crews are generally praised, food was classed as good but overpriced, aircraft are thought of as clean, comfortable and usually punctual.

Other Useful Information

Booking charges	Extra charges per person per return flight: Credit / debit card payment £3, booking fee £4. Best fares are between Mondays and Thursdays or book further in advance. Infants without a seat are charged 12% of adult fare. Flybe Economy Plus tickets offer more flexibility and advantages such as extra free baggage allowance. *During online booking check the right hand price column and be careful to de-select any unwanted automatic charges for baggage, seat choice, insurance etc.
Baggage charges and allowance	Economy checked-in baggage allowance is 20 kg maximum. Baggage charges for the first bag are £8.99, the next ones cost £13 per bag, prices can be subject to change. Free cabin hand luggage allowance is 10 kg, with a strictly enforced maximum size of 50x35x23cm including wheels or handles. This size is slightly smaller than with some other airlines, so measure your bag carefully or you could be charged extra. Excess baggage charges start at £10/kg for the first 3 kilos, £15/kg for up to 6 kilos and £20 for every kilo above that. Sports equipment, snowboards, skis and bicycles can be carried for £22.50 per item.
Seat Reservation	Flybe allocate all seats before departure for easy no crush boarding. Pre-booking selective seats online costs £6, extra legroom seats cost £15. Seats have up to 31 inches of seat pitch (legroom between rows). *Please note that during the booking process if you click on 'ACCEPT SEATS' be warned that this will automatically cost you £6 per passenger. You can avoid this by ignoring this bit, go straight to the bottom of the page and just click the 'CONTINUE' option.
Food	Meals are not included in the flight price, but snacks and drinks are for sale on board.
Check-In	Minimum 1 hour before, 45 mins if you have hand baggage only. Seats are allocated at check-in.
Flight Changes	No refund or free transfer will be given for missed flights. Route or itinery changes cost £25 per single flight, name changes (via Flybe call centre only) cost £30 per single flight.
Aircraft	Flybe have a growing fleet of Bombardier Dash8 Q400 passenger planes (78 seats), and a number of BAe 146-200 (97 seats) and 146-300 (110 seats) aircraft. The first new Embraer ERJ-195 jets (118 seats) are now also in use. Flybe are phasing out the noisier Boeing 737 and BAe 146 aircraft.