Heathrow needs to provide more domestic flights if a third runway is built at the London hub, according to Flybe boss Christine Ourmieres-Widener.
The airport’s poor domestic connections mean that the UK regions are “better connected to Amsterdam than to Heathrow”.
The airline’s chief executive said that large airports naturally prefer large aircraft, but “it’s not a long-term sustainable strategy” because the regions should feed hub airports.
Ourmieres-Widener also described a takeover attempt of Flybe by Southend airport owner Stobart Group earlier this year as “a massive distraction”.
She welcomed a government commitment to an increased number of domestic slots at an expanded Heathrow.
She told the Financial Times that she was working with Heathrow “on the commercial aspects of new domestic routes to ensure the airport benefits the whole of the UK”.
Heathrow said it was “committed to increasing and encouraging domestic connections” and would set aside £10 million for new routes after expansion.
Stobart, which franchises Flybe’s livery for aircraft, had its bid rejected by the airline in March as “well below the board’s own valuation”, according to Flybe’s annual report.
Ourmieres-Widener said the failed takeover had not damaged the relationship between the companies and had been “positive” because it had concentrated her board’s mind on Flybe’s strategy, which includes reducing its fleet from 85 to 70 aircraft by 2020-21. This is to cut costs and concentrate its routes.
More: Flybe reveals ‘no cost’ new livery
Flybe named Heathrow’s most environmentally friendly airline