flyBe Customer Reviews and flyBe Passenger Trip Reports

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SOU-AMS and return next day. Should have known better than choose a lunchtime flight. The inevitable "next information at..." message on the departures screen followed an Embraer bound for Malaga being unloaded after it "went tech". Evidently our airplane went to them. Time passed, with "next information at..." moving back every half hour. 5 voucher offered after an hour. Replacement Embraer arrived to get us away 2.5 hours late. Rest of flight uneventful, and it made a nice change to be attached to an airbridge at AMS instead of waiting for the bus. Next day it was a Q400 so back to the dreaded Gate D06. Boarded 15 minutes late. Captain announced further 20 minute delay due to single runway ops. Then the inevitable 20 minute taxi to 36L. Pleasant crew, Captain clearly tried to expedite journey, but still 40 mins late arriving. Can't really grumble, only £215 return vs 400 on BA. It is a little too much of a lottery though - particularly if you've a tight business agenda.

We were flying Newcastle to Exeter at 10.25am, this flight was delayed by 2 hours and then cancelled. Our only options were to get a refund or get a flight to Gatwick and a 4 hour coach journey to Exeter. The Gatwick flight was delayed by over an hour and we had to fork out a lot of extra money due to this. I will never ever use them again.

4 flights in 1 week (every one was late). Used Flybe to fly from Southampton to Aberdeen via Manchester. What can I say. 4 flights and not one was on time. Poor service from cabin crew, dirty planes. The first plane that I was on had to use the toilet. I was the first passenger to use the toilet and I was shocked at what I encountered. If they cannot even be bothered to clean a toilet and change a sodden toilet roll then no way would I eat or drink anything. All I can say is that the chance of me using Flybe again are almost nil. Found that the ground grew and cabin crew all had the same attitude (did not seem to care about service in any way or form).

Flight from Aberdeen to Sumburgh. Cargo door came open inflight so plane (Saab 340) diverted to Orkneys. To give you an indication of how poor this airline is, I have now been sitting here in Kirkwall for 3 hours, and they've only just made a definitive announcement about what might be happening re replacement aircraft etc. Flybe staff on the ground - no information, and other airport staff are either non communicative or just downright rude.

Dublin-Exeter-Dublin. Dash 8 plane. Very loud if you happen to sit (e.g. row 10) near to the propeller. Noise reduced once reached cruising altitude. Outbound flight was early. Inbound flight was 30 minutes late. Cabin crew very nice.

I fly from Manchester to Aberdeen at least once a month, and the flight has never been on time (as I write this I'm in the Servis Air lounge in Aberdeen waiting to board another delayed flight BE1036). Flybe don't have enough aircraft to cover contingencies, and I'm sorry but they are no longer cheap either, £482.00 is what I paid to fly up yesterday (also delayed by 90 minutes). From now on will be using BMI, dread to think how much of my time Flybe have wasted over the past two years and they must be aware of how garbage their service is.

I flew to Jersey from Southampton yesterday 22/04/13 on BE241, I booked online, chose me seat and paid my fare, only to be told by the stewardess on boarding 'I have moved you from 20A to 19C as a couple wants to sit together'. My complaint, is I was told not asked. What is the point of choosing your seat?

LGW-INV on EMB aircraft. Very comfortable, cabin crew friendly, slightly delayed departure, very positive experience overall. Seats don't recline on this aircraft but for a short trip this isn't a problem.

This is a low cost airline in terms of service but not price! We are crying out for decent choice at Southampton Airport but Flybe has the monopoly and don't we know it. They introduce new routes with a fanfare and then quietly drop them later hoping nobody will notice. Prague, Liverpool, Galway, Newquay, Toulouse, Murcia, Split, Frankfurt, Dubrovnik have all disappeared from the schedules. Poor choice, poor service, general complacency. I was able to avoid the overpriced 'drinks and snacks' on board.

Like Mr Humby I was on the Amsterdam to Southampton flight on April 12th. As he says, situation was chaos, and inconvenience huge having to re-enter Schipol Airport and security three times that day. If Flybe had the brains to keep two wheels at their destination airport they could have avoided this mess, as it takes only half an hour to change a wheel, which is something they would have to do anyway before they can fly the plane again. Altogether a very bad experience, and a bad advert for our country. My Dutch colleagues were not impressed.

Amsterdam to Birmingham flight. Technical fault during taxiing resulted in aircraft returning to terminal and passengers disembarking. All passengers put on one bus and deposited back at departures. The promised Handling Agent was not there to help resulting in complete chaos. We had to re enter the Country queuing at passport control and ending up back where we originally checked in. The Flybe rep. who we stumbled across was useless and had no idea what was happening. A KLM agent informed us that an engineer was being flown out from Exeter, there were no other Flybe flights to Birmingham that day but there were seats on the KLM flights. With no information as to what may or may not happen several passengers felt that there was no option but to pay £233 for a ticket to be sure of getting back that day. The service offered by Flybe was non existent. They may be cheap but they are useless.

BHX to HAJ last Tuesday (9/4/2013) and back 2 days later in Economy Plus. The air con did not work on either leg - the temperature and humidity was very uncomfortable. The crew tried to explain the problem, but admitted eventually that there was a "discussion" between the engineers and the captain about air con. To complete the experience I was told that the Economy Plus - drink voucher covers either tea or water, not both. At least on the way out I received both. Total cost for the trip was over 600 pounds - based on this experience I will avoid Flybe in the future.

Southampton to Amsterdam return. Outward flight delayed 2 hours. We boarded the return flight on time to be told there was a flat tyre and the flight was cancelled. There was no one from Flybe to help but eventually we discovered we had to book on the next flight. Flybe desk unmanned but 2 very helpful Chinese men from the next desk managed to rebook us. No evidence of any Flybe staff. Arrived in Southampton over 6 hours late. If Flybe management spent less time working out ways to screw every last penny out of its passengers and a lot more time working out how to provide a decent service they might have a reasonable business model. Quite disgraceful.

Flew Belfast to LGW return. The Embraer 195 was in a 2x2 configuration, clean and comfortable with reasonable seat pitch The flights were on time. For all the abuse Flybe receives, this was a good service with no complaints.

My son flew alone with Flybe and was informed his flight from Glasgow would not make the connecting flight from Birmingham to Düsseldorf. He was sent to an airport hotel and given a dinner voucher. At no time were we as parents informed by a member of Flybe staff. After 45 mins waiting for someone to answer a call we were informed that any child over 12 was considered an adult by Flybe. My son has now been between airports for over 24 hours.

Travelled Southampton to Dublin return with Flybe in a Dash 8. Both flights were on time and comfortable. I didn't eat.

Flew Manchester to Belfast City return over the Easter weekend. We were about 20 minutes late outbound, but bang on time coming back. The Embraer 195 was clean and comfortable both ways and the crews were friendly and efficient. For a short flight I don't bother with the food and drink so can't comment, but Flybe have pretty much done what I ask of them time and time again. Try and get an Embraer instead of the Dash 8, as it is more spacious and has bigger luggage bins.

Fly with flybe 2-3 times a year Dublin to Southampton - in 3 years it has never been on time. Most recently I got a voice-mail stating my flight times had changed, no mention of what to with a phone number to call. I have now been on hold for 15 minutes to CS before they could inform me of the slight changes to departure times. Why they didn't simply send an E-mail or text with the changes I don't know.

I booked flights for 2 adults to Nice in early May at what seemed a fair price. Within a week I received an email saying there had been a change of schedule to Nice, but nothing about the return flight. I was placed in a long queue when trying to call the number provided and gave up for the day. The next day I was phoned to be told that not only was my flight scheduled changed, but both flights had been cancelled as the route had been pulled until after 24 May 2013. I had booked a hotel which I was able to cancel free of charge and Flybe will reimburse all flight costs. Very poor, and I suspect a bad sales plan to see if they can sell enough seats on the route and, if not, call the whole thing off.

Booked flybe to Southampton from Jersey. They cancelled their first 2 flights of the day. One to Southampton and one to Gatwick. This is common place. Due to lack of bookings for first flight they cancel and consolidate on to later flight. It really is quite a disgrace. Not happy. They don't do this during week with corporate customers as they bring a lot of business. But your average public who travel once a year don't matter so much.

Flew Paris CDG to Glasgow via Cardiff. Was aware that there was a short stopover at Cardiff but was given the impression that Glasgow bound passengers stayed on board. After all we had cleared security only a few hours earlier. Some on board had even purchased duty free at CDG believing that Glasgow was the only airport they would pass through. How foolish was I (and they). All Glasgow bound passengers had to uplift their belongings, leave the plane, pass through border control, re check-in and then clear security before boarding the same aircraft. Those with duty free over the 100ml limit had to put their baggage in the hold. There is possibly a good explanation as to why this happens but we were never given it either by staff on board or at Cardiff Airport. To me it seemed like an unnecessary and pointless exercise which succeeded only in raising angst levels amongst many of the hapless individuals who were subjected to it. Perhaps a bit of information from flybe would prepare passengers for the nonsense to come.

Southampton to Amsterdam. I had a small carry-on well within the limit but I had literature and the weight was 12.7kg. I was asked to pay £40 for my luggage while it costs £16 online. They also claim you can only have one piece of luggage so I could not take my computer out and carry it by hand which would have lowered the weight. When I boarded 2 ladies also boarded with 3 bags each including one carry on luggage much bigger than mine.

Newquay to Gatwick return. You get what you pay for. Cornwall to London in less than 1 hour. The customer service was excellent, polite and helpful. If you want food and beverages you pay extra and they are a little overpriced, but I can survive without a coffee for 55 minutes. The planes are fine for short haul, basic leather seats and the plane was clean and tidy. The main thing that lets them down as with most regional airlines is the booking service. The constant extras added for credit cards, baggage, choosing a seat etc. You also cannot make a reservation for 2 people leaving but returning at different times. You have to make 2 bookings with 2 booking fees and 2 lots of credit card fees. Also the baggage allowance is 20kg. Most international flights allow you23kg, so using FlyBe as a connecting airline they sting you for you larger suitcase. But over all for travelling short distances without luggage, if you book early enough its cheap.

Appalling service! In 6 flights from Southampton to Manchester since last August, not one of these flights has left on time. Resulting in loss of pre-booked onward bound train tickets and then having to pay another £25 for taxi to Portsmouth due to missed trains. Customer service not interested whatsoever and they always give a different excuse as to why flight was delayed than what flight crew actually give at the time! Website horrendous to navigate and still can't get anywhere. One flight, staff couldn't get the head count right. Always have an answer for everything.

I am a frequent flyer with Flybe on the Aberdeen to Birmingham route. Over the last 6 months in particular, delays have become the norm and are increasingly by hours rather than minutes. On this occasion the flight was scheduled to depart at 18.30. On arrival at the airport the flight was showing delayed until 20.00 which then became 22.00. At 22.30 there was an announcement that the flight was now delayed until 11.15am the following day!! No apology, no explanation. The flight the following day departed at 11.30am, again with very little apology made and certainly no explanation. Even for Flybe, a 17 hour delay is pretty spectacular! Also, beware of booking flights with Flybe on or around public holidays. The have a nasty habit of cancelling flights a few weeks before, presumably if they are not selling enough tickets!

I fly about 3 times a month between Manchester and Belfast, and have done so for about the last year. Only once have I seen a significant delay, the rest of the flights have been surprisingly punctual. Aircraft do seem to vary from the Dash 8 to the lovely new Embraer jets which are far more comfortable than easyJet aircraft or any other airline I have travelled on around Europe. The Northern Irish air hostesses are always friendly and accommodating, and sometimes it seems to be a Manchester crew too who are pleasant as well. Belfast City Airport is brilliant as well - I check in about 45 minutes before the flight leaves, with no hassle, have a good coffee and get on the plane. It is so much more convenient than using Belfast Aldergrove which is old and miles out of the city.

Flybe cancelled the 15.00 from Birmingham to Glasgow without letting anyone know and just changed it to the 16.45. Obviously it wasn't a busy enough flight for them but nothing was mentioned, and there was not opportunity to change onto the Edinburgh flight. Even though a seat was booked and paid for, it couldn't be used on the next flight. Not a good experience and I wouldn't want to travel with them again.

Boarded on time, lovely welcome from the Belfast based crew. On time departure, 25 minute flight time during which time drinks and refreshments were offered for sale. Arrived early. All very easy and very efficient. I booked in advance so the fare was low.

I recently needed to fly from Dusseldorf to Glasgow and booked with Flybe travelling via Birmingham. This was an expensive flight - £580 return - as it was booked at short notice. I arrived at Dusseldorf for the flight and could see something was wrong. There were very long queues for security and just about everything else. My flight was not on the board and I searched the check in desks to try to find the check in for Flybe. I eventually found an unmanned check in desk with a Flybe sign behind it - almost hidden. I phoned a colleague in the UK who checked the flight for me and told me it was cancelled. Nobody from Flybe was there to help or tell us what was going on. It turned out that there was a strike of security staff - not Flybe's fault - but there was no information. British Airways staff helped as much as they could and were at least present! I eventually travelled the next day with Ryanair from Dussldorf Weeze to Edinburgh. My formal complaint to Flybe went unanswered. They do not care about customers - they just want your money.

I flew from Southampton to Glasgow, I spent 3 hours delayed at Southampton only to be flown to Edinburgh then Bussed to Glasgow. No information given.

I try to visit Jersey a few times a year as I have close family there. However I detest Flybe because of the numerous problems I have had with them over the last couple of years. With the demise of BMI Baby from East Midlands I now have Flybe from there or from Doncaster. A nice monopoly for them which has made my first attempt at getting to Jersey £70 dearer than it used to be. They cancel flights frequently, even if a slight delay is encountered they just chop the flight altogether. I dread to think how older people or those with extra needs cope with the inconvenience / stress when they are left stranded or flown to another airport miles away. Today of course the weather is a problem but Flybe were showing EMA to JSY as delayed and then suddenly it was back to being on schedule. We were en-route in bad weather when my daughter phoned and said it is now cancelled!

We were in Jersey for a family funeral which was stressful enough, but on arrival at Jersey Airport for our return flight on 11th Jan we were told that our flight to East Midlands Airport was cancelled and we would be put on the flight to Manchester - and would be transferred by bus down to EMA, so instead of a 55 minute flight we had a 65 minute flight plus a 1 hr 30 minute bus journey.  FlyBe took over the EMA to Jersey route in October after the demise of BMI Baby, we have been flying to Jersey with BMI for 46 years and have never had any problems apart from weather related ones, and the first time we go with FlyBe it is cancelled. I was warned by people in Jersey that they had a reputation of cancelling for the slightest little thing and are called Fly Maybe by Channel Islanders.  I decided to look at the flights today and low and behold the EMA to Jersey was cancelled yet again but all other airlines flights were normal.  Use FlyBe at your peril you probably wont get there.

Flight from Edinburgh to Southampton, special offer price of £143.98 eventually cost me £223.58. Flight including taxes £143.98 - Airlines credit card fee £22 - Additional services £29.98 (baggage) - Booking fee £27.62. Unfortunately because of family commitment I had to request a change of flight home to the next day and was told it would cost £100. I decided I wouldn't give them any more money and flew back with British Airways from Heathrow - a much cheaper option. I'm not at all happy with Flybe and do not intend to fly with them again.

MAN-CDG-SFO via FlyBe/Air France. FlyBe's online check in system messed one of our party's booking due to this current Air France/FlyBe partnership. In fact, it showed (second experience for us with this) the CDG-SFO journey as not having been checked in, only the MAN-CDG (FlyBe's portion) journey as being checked in. System is, therefore, very inaccurate. Although one buys and flies Air France as well as checks in online using Air France's website from the States it's the reverse from the UK. Thus, when doing online check in from the UK one is directed from the Air France site to the FlyBe site which does not make sense. Getting to the airport the check in agent claimed the booking was not to be found in the FlyBe system. Told we had to wait until their office opened in order to have management sort out the problem. Thankfully we arrived two hours before departure, but I cannot believe that passengers are at the mercy of the office being opened to sort out any booking issues. This almost caused us to miss our flight to Paris in order to connect to San Francisco. The agent then forgot to issue the complimentary drinks voucher and we forgot to ask due to the confusion. Onboard we were refused drinks due to lack of the voucher. Best thing to do is to avoid this Air France/FlyBe partnership and fly Air France for both long haul and connecting flights.

Used them for the first time. East Midlands to Edinburgh. Long delay as plane had a fault and had to get replacement. On return got on plane to be told there was a problem with one of the engines which they would fix. Over an hour and a half later we off loaded onto an other plane. If they had any idea about good customer relations they should have at least offered us a complementary drink. Would not use them again.

Use this airline regularly on the Belfast-Glasgow route. Only ever had one issue of a plane not being sent and it only delayed us by 20 minutes. Friendly and local staff with an excellent selection of easy check-in options. Would highly recommended this route.

Over the past 24 months my wife, daughter and I have flown the Glasgow - Exeter route many times. My concern is the outrageously expensive prices. I have now taken to driving the route and accepting it takes time but saves 75% in costs, avoids the nauseous experiences of security at Exeter Airport and frequent delays. If Flybe intend to continue to charge BA prices then they should raise their game to BA standards, of course, they have no need as there is no competition on the Exeter - Glasgow route.

Southampton to Leeds Bradford and return for Christmas. Although flights were OK and on time, we had a lot of small stresses. Found the personal security checks at Southampton quite daunting - better on the way back because we were prepared for it. The on-line check-in was not working on our return so we had to queue up at the check-in desk. At Leeds/Bradford we were told our flight was ready for "immediate boarding" only to be kept standing in a queue for at least 20 minutes - no doubt many passengers are used to this but we would have appreciated some information from the staff. Then the escalator down to ground level was not working so we were directed to a lift as we couldn't manage the stairs with our cases but were then told to hurry up as we were the last to board. No complaints about Flybe staff, but the most helpful people were other passengers, who immediately offered to stow our cases and coats and help us carry our cases down the steps when we landed.

Fed up with Flybe - flown with them 3 times from Exeter to Manchester and 3 times delayed. This time my 14 year old daughter is delayed for 3 hours at Manchester (first time travelling on her own). Supposedly the plane was delayed in Geneva because of snow but this was not true - now they are saying there is something wrong with the plane - absolutely poor service. Will not be using them again. The plane is supposed to be quicker than the train but not with Flybe it isn't as there are always delays from Manchester on the return to Exeter.

Inverness to Amsterdam. 27 December. Super flight, on schedule and very pleasant crew. Arrived 30 minutes early. Embraer 175 - very comfortable plane.

MAN to BHD which I fly a handful of times a year. For a 40 minute flight you can't expect too much, but the Embraer 175 is a pleasant aircraft (preferable to the Dash 8 which Flybe also use on this route), the cabin was clean and we weren't delayed. The cabin crew were efficient and good updates came from the captain as to progress. I didn't bother buying anything in terms of refreshments, nothing remarkable choice wise but not poor either. Flybe did their job and I am happy to keep using them.

Now that Flybe is one of Air France's partners we've no choice other than to fly with them to and from MAN and Paris CDG. We have had no problems so far with them on these journeys. We've also used them to fly from Newcastle to Belfast City with no problems. FA's have been professional and friendly. The planes used are not the newest Airbus aircraft, but they are comfortable for the short journeys. The legroom is quite good-wish we could have that on our long haul flights. And even nowadays they give complimentary drinks and snacks (e.g. chips, biscuits, trail mix).

Living in Southampton, Flybe is sadly pretty much my only option. In the last 12 months I have flown from Southampton to Manchester 4 times, with 3 delayed flights (approximately 2 hour delays each time) each meaning I have missed important meetings, with very little apologies each time. I'm currently sat in Southampton airport again delayed for my flight to Dusseldorf, which should have left 1hr 30mins ago. Flybe have given no indication of how much longer this delay will be, with information boards saying 'next information at...', which just keeps getting later and later. Unacceptable customer service, could at least give an indication of how much longer I am going to have to wait and waste my time in the airport. Flybe seem to assume passengers have nothing better to do than sit, wait, and be forced to spend money in the poor selection of food and drink establishments in Southampton airport. I wish we'd just driven to Heathrow and avoided this mess by flying with a more reliable airline, which is certainly what we will be doing going forward. Thanks for ruining the start to a precious weekend off Flybe!

Must have been a one off, as had a reasonable experience flying BHX to Dusseldorf return recently. 0700hrs flight from BHX on a new E175 was a third full. Not a huge amount of legroom for someone that is 6ft+ but was made better with no one in front or behind. Return flight was pretty much full. Service onboard both was friendly yet functional. Hand luggage wasn't checked for size or weight on the way out nor back. Landed early on the 1740hrs return flight. Booked flights weeks in advance so obtained a good fare. If I had to fly the same route again, would probably use Lufthansa to avoid any shock charges with baggage, etc.