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Some Flybe flights now bookable (cheaper) via Virgin Atlantic

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We have, slowly, some proof that the integration of Flybe into the Virgin Atlantic schedules is beginning to gain traction.

You can now book some – not all, but some – Flybe flights via the Virgin Atlantic website.  You can book them as standalone flights, or in conjunction with a Virgin Atlantic long-haul flight.

Amusingly, you may even find that they are cheaper via virginatlantic.com.

How to book Flybe flights on Virgin Atlantic

That’s the good news.  Here is the slightly confusing news:

there is no mention of earning Virgin Flying Club miles

there is no mention of earning tier points in Virgin Flying Club

you cannot book Flybe flights with Virgin Flying Club miles 

I think all of the above will happen, but not just yet.  If you visit the ‘airline partners’ page on the Virgin Atlantic website, Flybe isn’t yet listed.

Are Flybe flights cheaper via Virgin Atlantic?

It seems so, in some cases.

Here is an example, from Edinburgh to Heathrow on Monday 17th February (click to enlarge):

Book Flybe flights on the Virgin Atlantic website

…. and here are the same flights via the Flybe website:

How to book Flybe flights via Virgin Atlantic

As you can see, the 6.15am departure is £10 cheaper when you book on the Virgin Atlantic website.

This is not uncommon with codeshare flights, to be fair.  All it means is that Virgin Atlantic has not yet sold its allocation of the cheapest tickets, whilst Flybe has.

Not all Flybe routes are currently bookable via Virgin Atlantic.  I only found three – Aberdeen to Manchester, Aberdeen to Heathrow and Edinburgh to Heathrow.  I’m not sure what other routes are there yet.  It seems that to guarantee the best price you’ll need to look at both flybe.com and virginatlantic.com going forward.

How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards

How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Virgin Points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

You can choose from two official Virgin Atlantic credit cards (apply here, one has a bonus of 15,000 points):

Virgin Rewards credit card

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

The UK’s most generous free Visa or Mastercard at 0.75 points / £1 Read our full review

Virgin Rewards Plus credit card

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

15,000 points bonus and the most generous non-Amex for day to day spending Read our full review

You can also earn Virgin Points from various American Express cards – and these have sign-up bonuses too.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for a year and comes with 20,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 20,000 Virgin Points:

Nectar American Express

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 30,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 30,000 Virgin Points:

American Express Platinum card Amex

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points. 

(Want to earn more Virgin Points?  Click here to see our recent articles on Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club and click here for our home page with the latest news on earning and spending other airline and hotel points.)

Category

Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club

Comments (81)

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

  • The Original David says:
    16 Jan16 January 05:12

    Presumably booking via VS is also a safer bet than Flybe direct if Flybe is on the verge of administration. When Flybe goes under, VS will still be on the hook for getting you to your destination, right?

    • Anna says:
      16 Jan16 January 05:44

      I’m not sure about this (recall a few comments about BA not being liable if you’ve booked an e.g. AA flight through them). Also how are they going to get you to somewhere like the Scilly Isles if Flybe do go bust?!

      • Shoestring says:
        16 Jan16 January 06:18

        the operating airline is responsible for delivering the flight – eg, in an EU/261 compo case, in the above scenario Flybe would bear all the liability, not Virgin

        whatever else you do, pay on a credit card for Section 75 protection

        • The Original David says:
          16 Jan16 January 07:25

          Isn’t there a distinction between EU261 compo and bankruptcy? If Flybe stops operating a month before my flight, I still have a contract with VS for a journey from A to B, since my ticket was issued by Virgin. Agree that CC protection is also important, but I think VS would also be liable here.

          • Shoestring says:
            16 Jan16 January 07:35

            quite possibly, I was only commenting on EC/261 liability

            [10. Codesharing may give rise to uncertainties concerning carrier liability. Two important legal issues are posed by codesharing: which air carrier is liable under the Warsaw regime and which air carrier is responsible to the passenger in user/consumer-related matters? In the case of the former, it would appear that codesharing, when it involves a connection, need not necessarily be equated to successive carriage such as in the usual case with interlining, but that ultimate legal responsibility could nonetheless be determined by the contract of carriage between the passenger and the contracting carrier, depending on the interest of the passenger or its claimants. Where the codeshared service does not involve successive carriage, then other legal considerations concerning the right of liability redress may arise. With respect to responsibility to user-related issues, the usual airline industry rules and practices would apply, i.e. responsibility rests with the operating carrier. In any event, before engaging in providing services, codesharing partners should meet certain requirements, i.e. agree on liability issues and give notice to the public, so that these
            become part of the terms and conditions of carriage (see Chapter 7).]

      • sk736 says:
        16 Jan16 January 06:44

        Why would you be booked with Flybe if going to the Scilly Isles? They don’t fly there!

  • Yawn says:
    16 Jan16 January 06:33

    As I posted a few days ago, I was able to book FlyBE on the KLM website for less than the normal fare and with the promise of XP, etc. , But I checked some other FlyBE routes from Cardiff and it seemed a one off.

    • Youngtraveller says:
      16 Jan16 January 08:07

      I do this as well either on klm or airfrance website but I mostly book cwl-cdg and it includes a bag so really not bad.

  • Shoestring says:
    16 Jan16 January 06:55

    Matt https://m.facebook.com/mattcartoonist/photos/a.106612604148377/132025658273738/

  • Thomás Munro says:
    16 Jan16 January 07:19

    You can also book Southampton to Manchester, it’s also about £10 cheaper on Virgin than Flybe on the test I did going out on 31st Jan coming Back on the 2nd Feb.

  • Graham Watson says:
    16 Jan16 January 08:09

    Exeter – London now bookable

  • memesweeper says:
    16 Jan16 January 08:31

    For those of you who care about these things, the codeshares are available to travel agents/corporate agents via GDS.

    My hunch is Virgin will put a codeshare on all Flybe routes that arrive/depart their hubs in Manchester, Gatwick, and Heathrow, but not other routes.

  • Andrew says:
    16 Jan16 January 08:33

    Was close to buying one of the OptionTown BA season tickets before the FlyBe discussions of changes to APD.

    Any thoughts on what would happen if there were a change to APD and someone had bought a pack of passes? Refund of the difference by BA/OptionTown?

    • Shoestring says:
      16 Jan16 January 09:25

      refund

      we’ve been there before when the APD rules were changed for kids – we got APD refunds on RFS tickets booked on BA – avios.com refused to give a refund, saying APD was not a separate charge, the cheats

      • John says:
        16 Jan16 January 11:40

        If you paid 50p plus avios for an RFS under the new system how should they “refund” you?

      • TGLoyalty says:
        16 Jan16 January 11:55

        but they are correct they collect £17.50 per leg no matter the actual tax and airport etc fee charges. you can’t have it in your benefit everytime Harry

        • Shoestring says:
          16 Jan16 January 12:03

          I know but they also saved the APD—> straight to bottom line

          exactly the same scenario with BA as they were RFS fares as well, BA just refunded APD on demand

          I wasn’t that sore about it! 🙂 especially as with the curse of Shoestring I sent avios.com to oblivion just a few months later

  • ROBMC says:
    16 Jan16 January 08:36

    Thanks Rob.
    Had a look from Belfast (city) BHD to MAN is bookable via Virgin’s website, operated by Flybe.

    And BHD to LHR with 2 stops! via MAN and EDI and taking 7 hours and £271 in economy light is an unusual
    awkward one

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