BA has operated domestic routes such as Heathrow to Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen for two years, since Virgin Atlantic ceased its Little Red operations.
Flybe is now understood to be mooting plans to pick up some of Little Red’s former routes, according to the Sunday Times.
Slots at Heathrow remain rare – and expensive. However, BA is required to make them available free to competitors on some domestic operators, with the agreement to help rivals one of the conditions imposed on BA by competition regulators in return for their agreement for BA’s takeover of BMI in 2012.
The newspaper reports that although Flybe declined to comment, its chief executive Saad Hammad believes it will succeed where Branson failed.
The airline would reportedly use small turboprop planes, which are cheaper to run than the larger jets Little Red used.
Could Flybe scoop up Little Red's former routes?
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