#872026 by robinnelson
05 May 2014, 13:46
Southampton to Jersey is only about 130 miles with a flight time of around 35 minutes, but it can be more expensive than flying from one side of USA to the other :(! . These days we have a choice of flying Blue Islands (Channel Islands based airline) or Flybe. Normally use Blue Islands, booking a hotel & flight package through Expedia & Quidco, on this occasion Flybe was cheaper (or so we thought) and flight times suited better for this particular trip. What I failed to remember when making the booking was that Flybe charge for bags £14.99 (up to 15 kilos) or £15.99 (up to 20 kilos) per bag, per sector if booking in advance or £40 per bag per sector at the airport. We opted to take one hold bag between us and take everything else as hand luggage. They also charge for pre-booking seats £6.50 per person, per sector. For a 35 minute flight we decided not to pay the £6.50 and to see what seats were allocated at check-in. If booking on the Flybe website you can get choice of “Just Fly”, “Get More” or “All In” packages – the “Get More” price includes hold bag & seat booking, the “All In” price also includes lounge access and on board snacks. On this occasion for the price of “All In” we could have got a “Y” return from Heathrow to New York! Blue Islands don’t charge for bags or seats, gives lounge access at Jersey airport (although it’s a very basic lounge) and don’t have a credit card charge.
Online check-in opened up 36 hours before flight – allocated two seats together in row 14. On arrival at SOU airport went to the bag drop, which is now automatic/self service you scan your ticket, put your bag on scales and the machine prints baggage label, which you have to attach yourself before the bag disappears.
Security at SOU was very quick and efficient with very friendly & helpful staff making sure that everything is ok oo) .
We had about an hour before flight so went upstairs for coffee and a bite to eat. Comfortable area to relax and wait for flight with views of the runway. Boarding commenced about 20 mins before booked departure time, a simple check of boarding pass and ID at the gate then a short walk to aircraft.
Our aircraft was a Dash 8 with about 100 seats on board. Flight was about 80% full. Departure was on time and it only takes a few minutes to get airborne. It is possible to buy snacks and drink onboard, but for a short flight and the high prices we did not bother. An uneventful flight, with a landing in Jersey just over half hour after take off from Southampton. Within 20 minutes of landing we were outside waiting for the bus to St Helier. The airport bus runs every 20 mins taking about half hour (depending on traffic) all for £1.80 single fare. Return flight 2 days later was very similar, the plane only being about half full so again no problem getting 2 seats together. Interesting to note that most people had hand luggage and if flight was full there would not be sufficient space in the overhead bins.
In summary Flybe have the better aircraft – 100 seater Dash 8 compared to the Blue Islands Jet-Stream which only has about 20 seats, but in my opinion Blue Islands offer better value for money.

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