More gloom for travellers - Blue Islands/Flybe deal reduces competition even further

Guernsey has tasted Flybe's unreliability in recent years. Indeed, Flybe's presence in Guernsey is now rather fleeting. In September 2014, Flybe announced it was making substantial cuts to the lifeline route between Guernsey and Southampton. Blue Islands quickly responded by undertaking to accommodate those passengers who were potentially being left high and dry and by increasing its own flights on the route. At that time it was announced that Blue Islands' own low-fare structure would continue, with single flights being available from £25 one way, including taxes. Having established itself on the route, Blue Islands has – unsurprisingly – increased its fares. Those £25 journeys disappeared long ago. We now discover that you can book a flight on the route for £49.

Blue Islands use the slogan 'A Welcome Difference' to attract custom. At one time there did seem to be a welcome difference in their service. I am referring to the days when passengers travelled in a 19-seat Jetstream aircraft. On boarding you would be greeted by a polite and welcoming captain or first officer who would go through the safety drill in friendly fashion. Fewer passengers on the aircraft meant that receiving your luggage on arrival was quicker. Those days have gone. The 'Welcome Difference' airline is not what it was. Some of the cabin staff employed by Blue Islands could not be grumpier if they tried. They often seem disinterested in their role and spend more time at the back of the aircraft talking to one another than attending to their passengers. The safety announcement prior to take-off is often gabbled through and the voices we hear sometimes sound very bored.

The rising fares have also coincided with the disappearance of the 'sweet for landing' that used to be offered.

All of this confirms that the 'Welcome Difference' of Blue Islands has become history.

Last year we flew with EasyJet from Gatwick for the first time. As it was a 'low cost' carrier we did not expect anything special. However, the standard of service on board was far better than that which is offered by Blue Islands. Members of the cabin staff were attentive and pleasant. Safety announcements were spoken clearly and professionally and not gabbled through. The same level of service, incidentally, was noticed when we flew with Thomson Airways. Another contrast was observed when checking in for our flight. Although Gatwick Airport is bustling with activity, the member of staff at check-in was pleasant and friendly. How different from the girl at the Aurigny check-in in Guernsey who hardly looked up or spoke as she processed our booking. (Her male companion seemed equally disinterested.) We wonder how Aurigny has managed to be voted a top airline.

Simon Calder, travel editor for the Independent, has stated that Blue Islands' deal with Flybe will reduce competition in the market and will not be good for the fare-paying passenger. Mr Veron is bound to disagree, but I believe Simon Calder is right. Blue Islands seems to have reached its ceiling and to be on the way down. The route network is much reduced from a year or two ago. What happened to the Swiss destinations with champagne on offer? Remember the routes to Manchester, the Isle of Man, Paris and Bournemouth too – that all disappeared more than a year ago? The code-sharing link-up with City Jet (offering connections to European destinations via London City Airport) instead of those direct routes from Jersey was not a positive move. Familiar faces within the airline have also gone. (Did they anticipate the 'marriage' to Flybe?) The 'Fly better – fly Blue' slogan will also have to go when the purple image of Flybe is embraced.

Guernsey has had its share of travel gloom with the notorious Condor Liberation that has proved a white elephant. (Condor will, of course, deny this, but just ask those whose travel plans have been upset.) Aurigny – with the backing of the States of Guernsey – offer some stability, but questions still need asking. The introduction of Dornier 228s in place of Trislanders has not been exactly 'plane sailing', to coin an expression. How many airlines could afford to have a 'new' aircraft parked for months on end without engaging in the passenger-carrying duties for which it was purchased? (Dornier G-SAYE has hardly justified its place in the Aurigny fleet.) Now it's the turn of Blue Islands.

Even if, to quote Rob Veron, Blue Islands 'remain an independent locally owned air operator', the livery of Flybe will suggest otherwise. Flybe is supposedly a 'low-cost' operator (though not in the same league as EasyJet) while Blue Islands has branded itself as an airline that does include frills in the price. It is difficult to imagine how the two disparate identities can merge without the smaller airline losing its own distinctiveness. My own experience, however, is that the 'welcome difference' has already been lost.

Guernsey is facing a travel crisis. Jersey has the benefit of British Airways and EasyJet serving the island as well as Flybe and Blue Islands. Once upon a time Guernsey had a variety of airlines offering services. Various airlines spring to mind – British Airways (and BEA before that), Air UK (and its predecessors), British Midland, Dan-Air, Cambrian Airways, Channel Airways – and many more. But soon it's going to be a choice between Aurigny and the Blue Islands-cum-Flybe amalgam. A monopoly also exists at the harbour.

Things need to change, but it is difficult to see how they can.

Another ferry operator is desperately needed offering a reliable year-round conventional ferry service to Weymouth, please, the nearest UK port, as an alternative to Condor. It would be wonderful if another airline stepped in, too, to offer competition on routes to the UK. But with EasyJet's decision not to fly to Guernsey that seems unlikely to change. The ending of the code-share agreement between Blue Islands and Aurigny on the inter-island route is also a matter for concern. The one-time reliable 'shuttle bus' service that Aurigny used to offer between the two islands is a far cry from the small number of flights being provided now by Blue Islands.

The Opinion column in Monday 25 January's Press stated that 'Islanders are left feeling short of choice and vulnerable to price hikes'. Visitors to the island feel the same. Both deserve something better.

It's time the States of Guernsey saw the pitiful state that we are in and encouraged new operators to rejuvenate a stagnating situation.

Name and address withheld.

Editor's footnote: Blue Islands declined to comment.