Flybe (1979–2020)
Flybe, styled as flybe, was a British airline based in Exeter, England. Launched in 1979 as Jersey European Airways, and renamed Flybe in 2002, at various points it was the largest independent regional airline in Europe, and provided more than half of the UK domestic flights outside of London.
Jersey European Airways was formed in 1979 after the merger of Intra Airways and Express Air Services. In 1983, JEA was sold to Walkersteel, which also owned Spacegrand Aviation; the two airlines were merged under the Jersey European name during 1985. The airline experienced significant growth during the 1990s. It was renamed British European in 2000 and Flybe in 2002. On 3 November 2006, it was announced that Flybe was in the process of purchasing BA Connect. With the sale, the airline became the largest regional airline in Europe. On 10 December 2010, the company was floated in an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange.
In February 2019, the airline was sold to the Connect Airways consortium, backed by Virgin Atlantic and Stobart Aviation. Connect Airways intended Flybe and Stobart Air to then rebrand as Virgin Connect, although they would have retained their own air operator certificates. On 5 March 2020, Flybe filed for administration and ceased operations. The airline, which had been struggling for several months, claimed that its difficulties were compounded by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on bookings.
In October 2020, Thyme Opco, a company linked to former shareholder Cyrus Capital, agreed with the administrators to purchase the Flybe brand and relaunch the airline in 2021, subject to regulatory approvals. In April 2021, the new company renamed itself Flybe Limited, obtained an operating licence, route licences, and airport slots; the first flight took place on 13 April 2022. The relaunched airline ceased trading on 28 January 2023.
History
Early years
Flybe started operations on 1 November 1979 as Jersey European Airways as a result of a merger of the Intra Airways from Jersey and Express Air Services based in Bournemouth. It was founded by John Habin, a resident of Jersey and the majority investor. After selling Aviation Beauport and other business interests, Habin invested in the firm so that it could establish several routes from Jersey Airport to major airports in the UK. Initially equipped with an aging fleet of war-surplus Douglas DC-3 aircraft, Jersey European Airways gradually reequipped with more modern commuter airliners.In November 1983, Habin sold his stake in Jersey European Airways to Jack Walker's Walker Steel Group, which already owned the charter airline Spacegrand Aviation based in Blackpool. Initially, the two airlines were run separately although they partially shared management; Exeter Airport served as a critical hub, forming a meeting point between the two companies' route networks. In 1985, both airlines were amalgamated under the Jersey European name; the combined entity's headquarters was established in Exeter. In 1985, Jersey European Airways carried 160,000 passengers and achieved an annual revenue of just under £9million.
During 1990, Jersey European Airways' passenger count rose to 460,000, being 40 percent greater than the previous year. During 1991, the airline commenced its first route to London, flying between Guernsey and London Gatwick. In 1993, it received the first of its British Aerospace 146 aircraft, a four-engined jet-powered regional aircraft. That same year, the airline introduced a business class service aboard some aircraft. Around that time, the Exeter hub was supplemented by connections in both London and Birmingham. By 1995, Jersey European Airways was again expanding after incurring minor losses during the prior year.
In mid-1997, Jersey European Airways announced that it had achieved record results in its previous financial year amid a boom in Europe's regional airlines market; in the same year, the firm secured a franchise arrangement with Air France covering routes from London Heathrow to Toulouse and Lyon, expanded its fleet to provide 32% more seat capacity, and recorded a 27% increase in sales while profits had risen by nearly a third to reach £3.4 million. That same year, the airline, which operated a mixed fleet of 12 British Aerospace 146s, four Fokker F27s and two Short 360s was in the process of leasing additional BAe 146s to cater for expansion. Jim French, Jersey European's deputy chief executive, announced that the company was performing detailed studies with the aim of introducing larger airliners in the 150- to 170-seat class, such as the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families.
2000–2010
In June 2000, the airline announced that it had rebranded as British European; according to a company spokesperson, that was due to the Jersey European Airways name no longer being an accurate reflection of the scope of the routes which were covered. The name was soon shortened to simply Flybe on 18 July 2002 and the airline repositioned itself as a full-service, low-fare airline. Various pricing and product changes were made in line with this position such as discounted one-way tickets, the abolition of overbooking practices, a customer charter of the airline's service standards, as well as compensation for delays.In June 2005, it was announced that Flybe would procure a fleet of 26 Embraer E-195 regional airliners; it would claim that it had opted for the 118-seat E-195 over rival 150-seat aircraft due to economics and performance benefits. Flybe would serve as the launch customer for the E-195, receiving the first example of the type during the later half of 2006. Initially, the E-195 fleet were assigned to the airline's high-volume trunk routes, but the firm later planned to use it on new routes to expand their network. Further E-195s would be ordered by the airline over the following decade, the type making up a major proportion of Flybe's fleet.
On 3 November 2006, it was announced that Flybe would buy BA Connect, except for that airline's services out of London City Airport. During March 2007, this takeover was completed; as a consequence of the BA Connect takeover, the ownership of Flybe was divided between Rosedale Aviation Holdings, Flybe staff and the International Airlines Group. 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 advertised for "actors", as well as offering free return flights to Dublin on its website. 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. On 10 December 2010, Flybe floated in 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 £215million, and raising £66million for the company, half of which was to pay for fleet expansion.
2011–2020
On 23 May 2013, it was reported that Flybe had sold its slots at Gatwick Airport to EasyJet for £20million, 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, 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 would launch domestic and international flights from London City Airport from 27 October 2014 after signing a five-year deal with the airport. The airline was expecting to carry around 500,000 passengers a year, with all five 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, new interior features and new uniforms. During June 2014, British Airways sold most of its remaining stake in the airline; it had already been reduced to 5% by share issues.
In early 2016, it was announced that Flybe had negotiated a six-year agreement with SAS Scandinavian Airlines to fly 4 ATR 72–9 aircraft on their behalf, starting in October 2016. On 4 March 2015, Flybe announced new routes from Cardiff Airport bringing the number of routes to eleven. Flybe also stated their intention to create a new base at Cardiff Airport in summer 2015, initially basing two Embraer 195 aircraft there, which subsequently increased to three. On 10 November 2015, Flybe announced that it would base two Embraer 195 aircraft at Doncaster Sheffield Airport in South Yorkshire, starting new routes to Amsterdam, Berlin Tegel, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Jersey, Alicante Airport, Málaga, Faro, Portugal and Newquay Cornwall Airport as of 2016. The announcement came on the same day that Flybe announced they would be pulling flights from Bournemouth Airport in England. Dublin Airport was added in October 2016, taking over where Stobart Air left. On 26 October 2016, it was announced that Hammad would be standing down as CEO with immediate effect and consequently, Flybe was beginning the process of finding a replacement. On 21 November 2016, Flybe announced it would open its first European base at Düsseldorf Airport in Germany. In February 2017 that commenced with two aircraft alongside 60 pilots, cabin crew and engineers. On 22 December 2016, Flybe started selling flights for 12 further destinations from Southend Airport in London in an extension to their existing franchise operation with Stobart Air.
Flybe and Loganair separately announced that their franchise agreement would terminate in October 2017. Flybe then announced a partnership with Eastern Airways, a British airline and would now operate routes in direct competition with Loganair–namely flights from the Scottish mainland to Stornoway in the Isle of Lewis, Kirkwall in Orkney, Scotland and Sumburgh in Shetland, Scotland. On 16 January 2017, former CityJet boss Christine Ourmieres-Widener, took over as CEO after Saad Hammad left in October 2016. Later in the year, Flybe began flying from Heathrow to Aberdeen Airport and Edinburgh taking over slots previously used by Virgin Atlantic Little Red.
On 22 February 2018, franchise partner Stobart Air confirmed interest in a takeover bid of 100% of Flybe for an undisclosed fee. However that bid was rejected by the carrier and Stobart scrapped its interest on 22 March 2018, causing share prices in the airline, which had climbed by up to 25% following the bid, to drop back to their previous level. In September 2018, a revised aircraft livery was launched, with purple and white being retained but lilac replacing the red and yellow. On 14 November 2018, after the airline's shares fell by 75%, Flybe announced that it was talking with various parties about a potential sale of the business, as part of a wide-ranging review of strategic options. On 22 November, news emerged that Virgin Atlantic was one of the parties with which Flybe had been holding discussions; Flybe's slots at Heathrow were of particular interest to Virgin Atlantic, along with the potential to use Flybe to feed passengers into the Virgin Atlantic hubs in Manchester and London Heathrow.