FGW v FLYBE

[Xavi]

Departed Digby, Exeter by taxi 0550. Slick security check and time for croissant and coffee at Exeter Airport. Take off 0645 land at London City just after 0730. DLR to Bank. Central Line to Holborn. Arrive office 0825. Cost £85.

Leave office 1530. Central / Bakerloo to Paddington 1606 to Exeter St Davids. 1850 to Digby arrive 1903. Cost £65.

FLYBE enabled 0900 meeting in Central London. Aircraft cramped - not practical to work while travelling. Good value.

DLR convenient and reliable.

Central Line rammed, couldn't board first two arrivals at Bank. Crossrail needed!

FGW great for working while travelling, even in standard and on 150/2 to Digby. Call it the mobile office. Good value off-peak single with bit of flexibility.

I think both have a good future in supporting the Executive drift away from London. Business may be done there but the trend is to live elsewhere and visit as required.

 

[TheWalrus]

Maybe we need a 0500 departure from Exeter St David's to London Paddington to cater for this market?

 

[Bletchleyite]

What *is* it with 9am meetings in London? Do people think anyone gains from being half asleep during important business meetings? Is it beyond the wit of man to schedule such meetings for 11am instead?

Neil

 

[Clip]

What *is* it with 9am meetings in London? Do people think anyone gains from being half asleep during important business meetings? Is it beyond the wit of man to schedule such meetings for 11am instead?

Neil

Well quite a few of us are at work before 0900 so seems perfect for me. What I don't lik eis ones at 1500 on a Friday afternoon.

 

[johntea]

I'm one of those that find meetings pointless, unproductive and a waste of time for everybody involved, to such an extent I refuse to take a notebook and pen to any I attend as what happens to any notes I make? They'll just end up under a pile of other things on my desk and eventually in the recycling bin!

If somebody needs something doing, what do they need doing? Right I'll see if it can be done, the end.

 

[Bletchleyite]

There's always...

 

[Xavi]

What *is* it with 9am meetings in London? Do people think anyone gains from being half asleep during important business meetings? Is it beyond the wit of man to schedule such meetings for 11am instead?

Neil

11am start? That's exactly what I do whenever practical and I use FGW. Yesterday was the first time I have used FLYBE and, whilst it was good and met an unavoidable need, it will be a FGW return next week when I don't have such a hectic schedule. Working on the train with wifi / 3G makes this working lifestyle more viable than it was ten or so years ago.
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I'm one of those that find meetings pointless, unproductive and a waste of time for everybody involved, to such an extent I refuse to take a notebook and pen to any I attend as what happens to any notes I make? They'll just end up under a pile of other things on my desk and eventually in the recycling bin!

If somebody needs something doing, what do they need doing? Right I'll see if it can be done, the end.

Amusing. Some meetings are pointless for sure. Nothing worse than those who justify themselves by talking non-stop internal nonsense. I can assure that is not myself, hence I work 80% of the time in Devon with no such meetings at all. Companies are slowly adjusting with today's IT systems and 'exporting' roles to where people want to work and live. Companies save money, my lifestyle is massively better than living in Metroland and I don't do loads of those internal meetings.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Maybe we need a 0500 departure from Exeter St David's to London Paddington to cater for this market?

Will be interesting what we get with a new IEP (9-car bi-mode for Westcountry sounds like a done deal) / Crossrail timetable in a few years. A departure as late as 0630 off Tiv Pkway with Central London / Canary Wharf reachable by 0840-0850 would hit FLYBE for sure.

 

[dk1]

Read somewhere that FlyBe are cutting their intensive 3 flights a day to London from Exeter back to 2.

 

[Xavi]

Read somewhere that FlyBe are cutting their intensive 3 flights a day to London from Exeter back to 2.

That's right because the early morning passengers into London take the train home, just like I did yesterday. It's nothing about offering an intensive service, but there is demand for early into London option. You could even call it air and rail complementing rather than competing!

 

[bussnapperwm]

There's always...

That certainly is the case where I work!

 

[Flamingo]

I used to work with somebody senior who had a policy that ANY meeting that took longer than forty minutes (an hour at the outside) wasn't a meeting, it was a group therapy session!

They also had a strategy of, on arrival at any committee meetings, of saying "I have to go by such and such a time", and then stand up at that time and say "Goodbye, send the minutes to my secretary" and leave. As they were a key decision maker, it concentrated minds wonderfully after people got to know they weren't bluffing.

 

[WelshBluebird]

I used to work with somebody senior who had a policy that ANY meeting that took longer than forty minutes (an hour at the outside) wasn't a meeting, it was a group therapy session!

They also had a strategy of, on arrival at any committee meetings, of saying "I have to go by such and such a time", and then stand up at that time and say "Goodbye, send the minutes to my secretary" and leave. As they were a key decision maker, it concentrated minds wonderfully after people got to know they weren't bluffing.

Can see that kind of attitude falling down when it comes to meetings with clients and third parties but for internal meetings that is pretty brilliant!

 

[DeeGee]

What *is* it with 9am meetings in London?

Because absolutely everyone lives in London.

When I was working in London never, once, was I called to a meeting in Leeds or Nottingham that started at 9am. We always had time to get to work at normal time - then go by train to the meeting. I had many meetings over lunch.

Now I live other than in London, it amazes me how many things are organised in London for a 9am prompt start.

Forget it!

 

[notadriver]

There is an 0510 SWT service arriving Waterloo at 0846. Granted times don't match what's needed but at £123 it's cheaper.

 

[Flamingo]

Can see that kind of attitude falling down when it comes to meetings with clients and third parties but for internal meetings that is pretty brilliant!

They were at the top of the pyramid! Third parties were there for her opinion...

 

[WelshBluebird]

They were at the top of the pyramid! Third parties were there for her opinion...

I guess it depends if you can get away with it. If you can that is a brilliant attitude to have, and as you say certainly would mean people just got to the point!

 

[Flamingo]

A scary individual to work for/ with. She was probably the most brilliant person I ever worked with (which is saying something), but she didn't suffer fools gladly - she barely tolerated geniuses!

 

[The Ham]

Departed Digby, Exeter by taxi 0550. Slick security check and time for croissant and coffee at Exeter Airport. Take off 0645 land at London City just after 0730. DLR to Bank. Central Line to Holborn. Arrive office 0825. Cost £85.

Leave office 1530. Central / Bakerloo to Paddington 1606 to Exeter St Davids. 1850 to Digby arrive 1903. Cost £65.

FLYBE enabled 0900 meeting in Central London. Aircraft cramped - not practical to work while travelling. Good value.

DLR convenient and reliable.

Central Line rammed, couldn't board first two arrivals at Bank. Crossrail needed!

FGW great for working while travelling, even in standard and on 150/2 to Digby. Call it the mobile office. Good value off-peak single with bit of flexibility.

I think both have a good future in supporting the Executive drift away from London. Business may be done there but the trend is to live elsewhere and visit as required.

Of course for the leisure market there is the added bonus of using the train that a much shorter delay gets you money back than you would need to put up with than with an airline.

Also according to the "on time" statistics (within 10 minutes by rail and within 15 minutes by plane) FGW is more punctual than Fly-Be (even though the STATS are a bit biased in the favour of flying as it has an extra 5 minute leeway).

 

[island]

The problem comes when your FlyMayBe flight gets cancelled and the next flight isn't until tomorrow rather than an hour away.

 

[embers25]

The problem comes when your FlyMayBe flight gets cancelled and the next flight isn't until tomorrow rather than an hour away.

Or when they divert to another airport with a coach connection back! Tho FlyMayBe do have more issues with not flying at all than the average airline. They make BA look good.

 

[Mag_seven]

That's right because the early morning passengers into London take the train home, just like I did yesterday. It's nothing about offering an intensive service, but there is demand for early into London option. You could even call it air and rail complementing rather than competing!

People will take the train home because it is "walk on" and a plane is not.

 

[Wolfie]

I used to work with somebody senior who had a policy that ANY meeting that took longer than forty minutes (an hour at the outside) wasn't a meeting, it was a group therapy session!

They also had a strategy of, on arrival at any committee meetings, of saying "I have to go by such and such a time", and then stand up at that time and say "Goodbye, send the minutes to my secretary" and leave. As they were a key decision maker, it concentrated minds wonderfully after people got to know they weren't bluffing.

Great if and only if they are the senior person present... career limiting otherwise!

 

[Be3G]

Maybe we need a 0500 departure from Exeter St David's to London Paddington to cater for this market?

Presumably the idea is that the Night Riviera sleeper is the railway's solution for this kind of situation. Pick up from Exeter at 0106, arriving at Paddington at 0523 with the berth available until 0700. Not the longest night's sleep, admittedly. At a cost of £103.50 for an off-peak return plus £50 for six hours' use of a bed, so roughly comparable to the price paid by the OP too.