British Airways has changed the flights for tickets I'd purchased from Scotland to the south of France. What had been a great itinerary is now an unreasonable one. They don't offer anything better to which I can change.

The best alternative seems to be Flybe, which I'm sorry to say I've never heard of. As low-cost carriers go, are they on the EasyJet or Ryanair end of the scale? (To me, EasyJet doesn't seem so bad, but I'd hesitate to fly Ryanair.)

We have a while still before making a change -- the trip is for next summer....

I find them much more on the Easyjet end than the Ryanair end. I've flown them before and I wouldn't hesitate to fly them again. And just so you can calibrate my standards, I refuse to fly Ryanair.

Yup, flown them many times, they are fine. I think they are better than easyjet, and way better than ryanair. Just be sure you pay for your luggage before you get to the airport or they charge you a tonne more!

Flybe is similar to easyjet and Ryanair in that they fall in the low cost, no frills category. I have flown them a few times, from Bergerac and Limoges to Southhampton. The flights have been fine, the planes on those routes were small and cramped but those flights are very short so not a big deal, IMO.

From their web site you should be able to get an idea about size of aircraft on your route and of course length of flight, luggage restrictions, allowances, cost for excess luggage, etc. This can be a problem if your luggage weighs in at the BA overseas allowance, for example. Another caution is that they are very strict about check- in times.

What airport do you want to fly into?

We're headed to the Dordogne, so Bergerac would be handy.

There's a schedule from Glasgow to Birmingham to Bergerac with pretty decent times, at a very good price.

I so appreciate your responses -- and so quick! Thanks very much.

Echoing what others have said - I fly them reasonably often (Southampton is one of their regional bases). They are fine.

The little Dash 8 prop plnes can be a little noisy, and feel a little cramped. The overhead lockers are quite small, so an overfilled "standard" cabin bag may be a problem. Checked in luggage is expensive. The new fleet of Embraers are much roomier.

I will still fly Ryanair if the price is right, but Flybe are a much preferrable option in my opinion.

Actually, they have a long history and I'd consider them a bit different to Easyjet and RyanAir.
http://www.flybe.com/company_information/history.htm

However I don't consider that Easyjet and Ryanair should be mentioned in the same category....Easyjet are far superior to Ryanair

they also do seat pre-assignment