Aurigny capitalising on Flybe's departure
I HAVE just been looking at flight costs to London Gatwick for 2014 and was surprised at the inflated cost compared to this year.
Aurigny are obviously making the most of Flybe's departure. This year you could book a red-eye flight with free breakfast for £25 but now until the end of March this is £51 and no breakfast. Then in April, when Flybe has stopped, the red-eye flight cost rises to £65.
With this in mind I looked back on three separate flights I did this year to Gatwick and looked at their costs and looked up the same days and times for 2014 and this is what I found.
2013
Wednesday 5 June at 1430, returning Wednesday 12 June at 1600 for the four of us was £336.
2014
Wednesday 4 June at 1430, returning Wednesday 11 June at 1600 for the four of us is now £440.
2013
Monday 19 August at 0700, returning Wednesday 21 August at 1600 for the four of us was £248.
2014
Monday 18 August at 0700, returning Wednesday 20 August at 1600 for the four of us is now £504.
2013
Friday 11 October at 0700, returning Sunday 13 October at 1800 for the four of us was £356.
2014
Friday 10 October at 0700, returning Sunday 12 October at 1800 for the four of us is now £520.
You cannot tell me that this is a normal price increase, especially booking so far in advance. Another States monopoly, I think.
It is a shame that easyJet did not take up the fight as competition is really needed on this route.
I wonder if someone from Aurigny or Gavin St Pier can justify these flight charges.
newliberation@cwgsy.net
Name and address withheld.
Editor's footnote: Malcolm Coupar, Aurigny's commercial director responds: 'Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your correspondent's letter. The red-eye promotion we ran this year was a measured response to the arrival of Flybe's jet and was a commercial move to try to counter the interest that would be shown by islanders choosing to travel on their new aircraft rather than our ATRs. We always planned to stop the promotion in January and this was decided before Flybe announced they would leave the route.
We are still in the process of planning our pricing for next summer and will complete this and make the new prices available ahead of the busy booking period for next year which starts just after Christmas.
We are fully aware of the sensitivity to pricing in this market and it is our intention to provide the best value that we can at a sustainable level. Aurigny is a carrier owned by the people of Guernsey. Rest assured that our focus is on serving the island's needs, protecting the lifeline routes, offering appropriate fares and not being exploitative.'
