Flybe

Early years

Flybe started operations on 1 November 1979 as Jersey European Airways as a result of a merger of Jersey-based Intra Airways and Bournemouth-based Express Air Services, and was founded by John Habin, a resident of Jersey and the majority investor. After selling Aviation Beauport and other business interests, Habin established some key routes from Jersey to the UK, before selling the airline in November 1983 to Jack Walker's Walker Steel Group, which already owned Blackpool-based charter airline Spacegrand Aviation. The two airlines were then run separately, with partially shared management, until 1985 when they amalgamated under the Jersey European name, with the airline's headquarters moving to Exeter.

The airline became British European in June 2000, shortening this title to Flybe on 18 July 2002 and repositioning itself as a full-service, low-fare airline.

On 3 November 2006 it was announced that Flybe would buy BA Connect, except for that airline's services out of London City Airport. The takeover was complete in March 2007. The expanded airline's owners were Rosedale Aviation Holdings (69%), Flybe staff (16%) and – as a result of the BA Connect takeover – International Airlines Group (15%). The acquisition increased Flybe's route network in both the UK and continental Europe, making Flybe Europe's largest regional airline.

On 14 January 2008 it was announced that Flybe had signed a franchise agreement with Scottish airline Loganair, to commence on 26 October 2008 following the termination of Loganair's franchise agreement with British Airways on 25 October 2008. The agreement would see Loganair aircraft flying in Flybe colours on 55 routes from Scotland.

In 2008, in order to avoid losing a £280,000 rebate from Norwich Airport, Flybe hired 172 actors as "fake passengers" on 11 flights to Dublin. As a result, the environmental group Friends of the Earth called on the government to launch an investigation into the aviation industry.

Chief Executive Officer Jim French was recognised in the 2009 Queen's Birthday Honours List with a CBE for his services to the airline industry.

Development since 2010

On 10 December 2010, Flybe floated an IPO on the London Stock Exchange, with trading in shares commencing on the same day. Full public release of shares followed on 15 December 2010. The share price was set at 295p, valuing the company at approximately £215 million, and raising £66 million for the company, half of which was to pay for fleet expansion.

On 23 May 2013, it was reported that Flybe had sold its slots at Gatwick airport to Easyjet for £20m, and that the slots would be handed over to Easyjet on 29 March 2014.

CEO and Chairman Jim French retired in August 2013, leaving the post of CEO to Saad Hammad, formerly of EasyJet airline, while Simon Laffin became Chairman.

By November 2013, Hammad had shaken up the operation, requesting the resignations of three top managers within six weeks of his arrival. Out of 158 routes flown at the time, over 60 did not cover their direct operating expenses and the costs of crew and aircraft.

On 23 April 2014, Flybe announced that it will launch domestic and international flights from London City from 27 October 2014 after signing a five-year deal with the Docklands Airport. The airline is expecting to carry around 500,000 passengers a year, with all 5 allocated aircraft being based around the Flybe network overnight.

In March 2014, it was announced that Flybe would undergo a major brand refresh. This new scheme included a new purple aircraft livery and new interior features.

British Airways sold most of its remaining stake in the airline in June 2014. It had been reduced to 5% by share issues.

In early 2015 it was announced that Flybe had negotiated a six-year agreement with SAS Scandinavian Airlines to fly 4 ATR 72-600 aircraft on their behalf, starting in October 2015.

On 4 March 2015, Flybe announced new routes from Cardiff Airport bringing the number of routes to eleven. Flybe also stated its intention to create a new base at Cardiff Airport by Summer 2015.

On 10 November 2015, Flybe announced that it would base two Embraer 195 aircraft at Doncaster Sheffield Airport, starting new routes to Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Jersey, Alicante, Málaga, Faro and Newquay as of 27 March 2016. This announcement came on the same day that Flybe announced that they would be pulling flights from Bournemouth. Dublin was added in October 2016, taking over where Stobart Air pulled out.

On October 26, 2016, it was announced that Hammad would be standing down as CEO with immediate effect, and that consequently Flybe were beginning the process of finding a replacement.

On November 21, 2016, Flybe announced to open its first European base in Düsseldorf in February 2017 commencing with two aircraft and 60 pilots, flight attendants and engineers as recruiting is yet in progress.

On 22 December 2016, Flybe started selling flights for 12 further destinations from London-Southend, in an extension to their existing franchise operation with Stobart Air.

Flybe announced its partnership with Loganair would terminate in October 2017. A further programme for Scotland is yet TBC.

Ownership and structure

Flybe is a public company, listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: FLYB). Until November 2013, the main shareholder, with 48.1% of the shares, was Rosedale Aviation Holdings Limited, the corporate representative of the trustee of the Jack Walker 1987 Settlement, which was established by the late Jack Walker, who was involved in Flybe's early development.

In the UK, Flybe's largest base is at Birmingham Airport and it has other large bases at Belfast, Manchester and Southampton airports, with a total of 14 crew and aircraft bases across the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The company holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence permitting it to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats. The Flybe Group includes Flybe Aviation Services (engineering and maintenance), Flybe Training Academy (engineering and flight crew training), Flybe UK (airline operations) and Flybe Europe, the holding company for all European operations, which previously consisted of Flybe Nordic.

Business trends

The trends for Flybe Group over recent years are shown below (as at year ending 31 March):

Service concept

Flybe employs allocated seating on all flights and passengers have the option to choose a seat online in advance. "All In" ticket holders receive a complimentary drink and snack, access to Flybe Executive Lounges, free prebooked seating and priority check-in. For Economy passengers, the airline operates a buy on board programme, called "Café Flybe", offering food and drinks for purchase and have the biggest and broadest range of buy on board products of any airline in the market. Onboard sales are an important part of the airline's ancillary revenue.

Joint ventures and franchises

Loganair have operated a number of flights in Scotland and Ireland for Flybe under a franchise agreement since 2008. The franchise has been criticised by residents in the Scottish islands for what they perceive to be excessively high fares, and a Facebook campaign set up in June 2015 to highlight the issue attracted over 7,400 "likes" over the course of its first weekend. Flybe have however stated that Loganair -their franchise partner- is responsible for setting the fares.

On 11 January 2016, Flybe announced its third franchise deal with the Guernsey based airline, Blue Islands. This would see all Blue Islands flights operated under the Flybe name, and the Blue Islands aircraft livery replaced with the current Flybe livery from May 2016. This deal is however under investigation and could be potentially breaking local competition laws.

Flybe purchased Finncomm Airlines with Finnair in July 2011, and on 30 October 2011 rebranded the airline as Flybe Nordic. The joint venture operates its own routes along with franchise routes under a codeshare agreement for Finnair, operating under Flybe's BE-code. Flybe agreed to sell its 60% stake in Flybe Nordic in November 2014 for €1, in an attempt to reduce group costs. On 1 May 2015, Flybe Nordic began operating solely for Finnair as it is no longer a part of Flybe. Flybe Nordic is now known as Nordic Regional Airlines - Norra.

Sponsorship

On 24 April 2006 Flybe announced a 3-year deal with Southampton Football Club for sponsorship of the main club and shirt. On 11 December 2008, it was announced that Flybe had extended the deal by an extra year. However, this sponsorship deal has now ended with the club's decision to keep the club's shirts free of sponsorship for its 125th anniversary. Flybe are also the main and shirt sponsor of Exeter City Football Club. Flybe also sponsors the weather bulletins on ITV Meridian, STV, ITV West Country, Channel Television, UTV, ITV Wales with Cardiff Airport and the sport sections of the Manchester Evening News, the Express & Echo (Exeter), the South Wales Echo (Cardiff), the Isle of Man Courier and the Isle of Man Examiner.

In the past, Flybe sponsored Norwich City (2006–2008), Birmingham City (2003–2007) Southampton (2006–2010) and Inverness Caledonian Thistle (2007-2010).

Destinations

Flybe operates short haul services to destinations throughout the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and continental Europe.

Partnerships and codeshare agreements

Flybe codeshares with the following airlines:

Loyalty programme

Flybe uses the Avios frequent-flyer programme, which is also used by British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus. The programme is operated by the IAG subsidiary Avios Group.

Fleet

Flybe operates a mixed fleet of turboprop and jet airliners, the majority being Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 turboprops. Flybe is the world's largest operator of the Q400.

The airline placed an order for 14 Embraer E-195 aircraft in June 2005, plus options on an additional 12 aircraft, making it the type's worldwide launch customer. This was followed by the conversion of 4 existing Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 options into firm orders, bringing its fleet of Q400s to 45 when delivered.

Flybe received its first 118-seat Embraer 195 in September 2006, and the aircraft began to replace its existing BAe 146s, completing the fleet rationalisation started in 2003. The E-195s were fitted with a Head-up Guidance System (HGS) and configured to offer single-class service.

In May 2007, the airline signed a deal for a further 15 Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft valued at $394 million, with options for a further 15, increasing its fleet of the type to 60.

On 20 July 2010, Flybe placed an order for 35 Embraer E-175 aircraft worth $1.3bn, with options for 65 more (value $2.3bn) and purchase rights for a further 40 (value $1.4bn). The 88-seat aircraft was originally planned to be delivered between July 2011 and March 2017, with the first two aircraft actually arriving in November 2011.

In September 2014 Flybe reached an agreement with Embraer to cancel 20 orders for E-175 jets, and defer delivery of the outstanding 4 until 2018. Simultaneously Republic Airways placed an order for 50 E-175 jets, and agreed to lease 24 of their Q400 aircraft to Flybe.

Current fleet

As of January 2017, the Flybe fleet includes the following aircraft:

Historical fleet