Air Southwest is currently owned by Sutton Harbour Holdings, which has been looking to sell the airline for a number of months. Sutton Harbour Holdings also owns Plymouth Airport and created the airline to provide capacity into the airport that had previously struggled to attract scheduled airline traffic. However, with Air Southwest reportedly a loss making carrier, the company is now seeking to sell the airline.
Air Southwest currently operates 286 weekly domestic flights with its main bases at Plymouth and Newquay.
|
Origin |
Weekly Seats |
Destinations |
Share of Air Southwest Network |
|
Newquay |
2,923 |
7 |
27% |
|
Plymouth |
2,553 |
5 |
24% |
|
Bristol |
1,776 |
4 |
17% |
|
Others |
3,330 |
32% |
|
|
Total |
10,582 |
100% |
Source Flightbase September 14-20, 2010
Air Southwest currently serves 12 destinations in the UK with 10 domestic markets, including Jersey and Guernsey, with additional scheduled services to Cork and Dublin in Ireland.
WHY WOULD FLYBE WANT AIR SOUTHWEST?
Flybe is the UK's largest regional carrier and its strength lies in its domestic UK network, which it operates with lower capacity regional jets as opposed to typical LCC narrowbodies such as B737 and A320 equipment. It operates more UK city pairs than any other carrier and has successfully developed a strong regional brand. The table below illustrates the dominant Flybe position in the domestic UK market;
|
Carrier |
Weekly Seats |
Destinations |
UK and Ireland Market Share |
|
197,990 |
40 |
22% |
|
|
Aer Arann |
18,384 |
17 |
2% |
|
Eastern Airways |
14,782 |
14 |
2% |
|
Aurigny Air |
13,072 |
9 |
2% |
|
Air Southwest |
10,582 |
12 |
1% |
|
Others |
660,359 |
71% |
|
|
Total |
915,169 |
100% |
Source Flightbase September 14-20, 2010
Air Southwest operates 51% of its network from Newquay and Plymouth in Southwest England. In the same region, Flybe,headquartered in Exeter and the dominant carrier at Exeter Airport will strengthen its tight grip in the Southwest market by gaining access to Plymouth and Newquay markets.
Flybe currently operates just two destinations from Newquay(Edinburgh and London Gatwick) and does not serve Plymouth. Air Southwest operates 69 weekly flights from Plymouth . Across their respective networks, Flybe and Air Southwest compete on just two sectors; Jersey- Guernsey and Newquay-London Gatwick.
Air Southwest operates five Q300 aircraft, while Flybe has an extensive fleet of Q400 equipment and E195 aircraft. Air Southwest operates niche routes with its Q300 equipment, which could be attractive for Flybe on some of its thinner routes.
Despite the synergies, Flybe appears to be more focused on larger opportunities with their recent codeshare agreement with Air France and consistent development from London Gatwick. Therefore capturing Plymouth and Newquay appears to be an unwanted distraction but one that must surely hapeen in the future
FURTHER CONSOLIDATION IN THE UK REGIONAL MARKET
Aurigny Air is currently in the middle of takeover discussions with Channel Island based Blue Islands, which has agreed in principle to take over Aurigny Air. Aurigny Air is owned by the state of Guernsey and currently operates 379 weekly flights to ten destinations with ATR and Britten Norman equipment. It is the larger carrier of the two airlines, as Blue Islands operates 256 weekly flights to sevendestinations also with ATR, Britten Norman and Jetstream 32 equipment.
This would create a stronger brand in the Channel Islands, which are also markets where Air Southwest operates 13 weekly frequencies and Flybe has 284. Privately owned Blue Islands would be able to take control of the Guernsey government owned Aurigny Air and consolidate the carrier in a competitive market place proving a stronger competitor to Flybe and Air Southwest.
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