City’s flight numbers soar
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MORE than 10,000 passengers have flown between Inverness and Amsterdam since the route was launched six months ago, Flybe has revealed.
The airline is delighted with the response — which is ahead of target — and says it has seen a strong surge in demand from both business and leisure travellers.
The route began last September following the signing of a £450,000 public funding deal involving Highlands and Islands Enterprise, VisitScotland and Highland Council. The arrangement lasts for three years but the service is not guaranteed and is dependent on ticket sales.
"Sales on the Inverness to Amsterdam route have been boosted by passengers choosing to take advantage of the seamless onward connections offered by Flybe, with business travellers booking convenient and hassle-free connections through Amsterdam and onward as far a field as Dubai, New York and Singapore," said Simon Lilley, Flybe’s director of marketing.
"This route has proved to be particularly popular with travellers looking for short breaks abroad with Monday to Thursday, and Friday to Sunday bookings proving to be the most requested."
He added that connection bookings from Stornoway to Amsterdam via Inverness, and Stuttgart to Inverness via Amsterdam, had performed particularly well.
Flybe operates daily flights from Inverness to Schiphol Airport during the summer months and six per week during the winter. It is Inverness Airport’s only scheduled international service and is a crucial business and tourism link.
Meanwhile, connections between Inverness and the rest of the United Kingdom were improved last month when Flybe established a regional network hub at Manchester, which enables Inverness passengers to take advantage of more connecting flights.
Passengers can now travel twice a day from Inverness to Exeter, the Isle of Man and Norwich, and three times a day to Belfast via Manchester.
Flybe says April bookings for connecting travel between Inverness and Manchester were up 29 per cent on March.
The figures were released as Flybe announced a rebranding of its service under the "Making Flying Better" banner.
As part of the initiative the airline has scrapped charges for customers paying by debit card, while credit card customers are charged a fee on a per booking basis only, not on the number of passengers travelling.
The airline has also introduced three new ticket types.
The Essential ticket replaces economy and includes a 10k hand baggage allowance and seat selection at check-in; New Economy is the same as Essential but includes a 20k hold baggage allowance, advance seat selection at the time of booking and a changeable ticket for £19 extra; the Plus ticket includes all the above plus access to the Flybe Executive Lounge, a 40k hold bag allowance and complimentary food and drink onboard.
