Flybe has said that it plans to reduce capacity on its service connecting London Gatwick with Guernsey.

The budget airline will be scaling back the number of seats on its route to the channel island as the high season ends and demand begins to drop, according to a report in The Guernsey Press.

At the end of October, the carrier with take its BAe 146 jet off the service, replacing it with the smaller Dash Q400.

The Dash features 34 fewer seats than the BAe 146, and with the airline indicating that it might boost the frequency of its flights to Guernsey, there is some confusion as to the actual reason for the change.

Flybe had promised that it would operate five flights between Gatwick and Guernsey during the winter, although the carrier’s website shows that on most days in January there are only three or four services scheduled.

Ian Taylor, a spokesman for Flybe, has insisted “there is no hidden agenda” and added that it was normal for flight frequencies to fluctuate according to passenger demand.

He explained further: “When we are operating in the days of January and February, there are times when there is not the demand for five flights.

“We have gone on historical data and worked out the demand.”

www.flybe.com