High-flying city stays off airline hit list

Published on Tuesday 9 September 2008 09:44

THE second-est airline in Scotland has insisted that it will not cut routes from the Capital – because the city's economy is "more resilient" to the economic downturn than others in the UK.

Flybe, which flies between Edinburgh and 29 different destinations, insisted that no routes will be axed, despite rising fuel costs that have seen other airlines scale back services across the country.

The company said that its Edinburgh routes have outperformed the rest of the UK, with most recording strong passenger growth.

Mike Rutter, Flybe's chief operating officer, said: "Because Edinburgh has done so well for us we don't intend to lose routes, and capacity adjustments will be relatively minor."

In the 12 months to July 2008, Flybe, the fourth-biggest operator at Edinburgh Airport, saw passenger growth of 28 per cent on its Edinburgh to Birmingham route, while services to Belfast and Southampton were up 17 per cent and Jersey nudged ahead by one per cent.

Mr Rutter said the strength of the economy in the city was the main reason for the continued growth.

"We have continued to see that the Edinburgh economy in particular has remained resilient despite the current pressures," he said. "It has a reasonably balanced economy, a strong financial services sector, and business is doing very well."

Recent figures from BAA showed that passenger numbers at Edinburgh Airport increased by 0.7 per cent to 810,000 in May.

A spokeswoman for Edinburgh Airport said: "The Capital's airport is not escaping the impact of high fuel prices and the credit crunch – we've seen a small number of airlines announcing reductions to services this winter.

"However, Edinburgh's international traffic continues to grow and there will be a further boost later this month as Ryanair expands its base with 11 new services from Edinburgh."

TURBULENCE IN MARKET TAKES ITS TOLL

THE ongoing problems of the credit crunch coupled with the soaring price of fuel have had a serious impact on airlines operating out of Edinburgh Airport:

&#149 Centralwings has suspended its two Polish routes from Edinburgh to Gdansk and Warsaw "in response to the falling interest of passengers in some of its connections".

&#149 Nearly three per cent of British Airways' routes from Edinburgh will be cut, including around one in ten of services between Edinburgh and Gatwick.

&#149 EasyJet's route between Edinburgh and Dortmund is currently under review as the firm looks to restructure its base in the city, although all services will fly as planned until October 25.

&#149 Ryanair has said it will ground up to ten per cent of its UK fleet this winter, although it has not yet revealed where services will be cut. It is, however, launching 11 new services from Edinburgh this month.