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Flybe Limited (styled as flybe) is a British airline headquartered at the Jack Walker House at Exeter International Airport in Devon, England.[1] It operates around 180 routes between 55 European airports.[2] The airline's largest base is Southampton Airport and it has other large bases at Manchester Airport, Birmingham Airport and Belfast City Airport and 14 aircraft and crew bases across the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and 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.[3]
[edit] HistoryFlybe started operations on 1 November 1979 as Jersey European Airways (JEA), after taking over the operations of Intra Airways. Jersey European Airways was the brainchild of John Habin, a resident of Jersey and the majority investor in JEA. Having sold Aviation Beauport and other business interests, Habin established a few key routes from Jersey to the UK. Jersey European Airways was taken over in 1983 by Jack Walker's Walker Steel Group who were already the parent company of Blackpool based charter airline Spacegrand Aviation. The two airlines were run separately, with partially shared management, until their amalgamation within the Walker Aviation Group in 1985, under the Jersey European name. The airline rebranded as 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 agreement in principle had been reached for Flybe to acquire BA Connect, with the exception of London City Airport services. The acquisition was completed in March 2007. The airline is owned by Rosedale Aviation Holdings (69%), Flybe staff (16%) and British Airways (15%) as a consequence of the acquisition of BA Connect. It had 3,000 employees at January 2008.[4] As per the CAA's April/May 2009 passenger statistics, Flybe is now the UK's largest domestic airline (26% of total UK domestic passengers that flew during April chose a Flybe-branded flight, 3% more than those who chose an easyJet-branded flight). It carried 451,413 domestic passengers during April 2009, excluding franchise flights operated by Loganair. This puts Flybe in pole position among the UK's domestic carriers, ahead of easyJet, British Airways, the BMI Group and Ryanair. During that period Flybe also became London Gatwick's leading domestic operator.[5] Chief Executive Officer, Jim French was recognised in the 2009 Queens Birthday Honours’ List with a CBE for his services to the UK airline industry.        [edit] Acquisition of BA ConnectOn 5 March 2007 Flybe completed the acquisition of the former regional airline business of British Airways. The purchase was first announced on 3 November 2006 with British Airways acquiring a 15% stake in the airline. The acquisition (which did not include BA Connect's London City Airport routes, which have been taken over by BA CityFlyer) has increased Flybe's route network in both the UK and continental Europe making Flybe Europe's largest regional airline.[6] [edit] Loganair franchise agreementOn 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 will see Loganair aircraft flying in Flybe colours on 55 routes from Scotland.[7] [edit] DestinationsMain article: Flybe destinations Flybe operates short haul services to destinations throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and continental Europe. [edit]Main article: Flybe franchise and codeshare destinations [edit] Logos
[edit] FleetAs of December 2009, the Flybe fleet includes the following aircraft:[8]
As of December 2009 the average age of the Flybe fleet was 3.2 years.[9] [edit] Aircraft orders
[edit] Previously operated
[edit] Inflight servicesFlybe operates a buy on board programme offering food and drinks for purchase.[12] [edit]
Flybe has interline partnerships with airlines including American Airlines, BMI, Continental Airlines, Emirates Airline, Korean Air, Northwest, Singapore Airlines, TAP Portugal, US Airways and Virgin Atlantic[15]. [edit] Flybe: Controversial commercial practicesIn order to avoid a £280,000 commercial penalty, Flybe has hired actors to fill aircraft. Failling to reach quotas of passengers, Flybe decided to boost passenger numbers by hiring 172 actors as "fake passengers"[16], [17], [18]. "It doesn't seem to be in the spirit of the agreement, but more than anything our concerns are about the unnecessary impact on the environment." said Norwich airport managing director Richard Jenner. Friends of the Earth has called on the government to launch an investigation into the aviation industry following this practice of Flybe.[19] Like other low-cost carriers (such as Ryanair or Easyjet), Flybe is accused of offering "free" tickets to boost passenger numbers and reach quotas agreements signed with airports. For instance, on 27 March 2008, an offer appeared on the Flybe's website advertising "free flights to Dublin this weekend" and offering 200 free return tickets.[citation needed] [edit] Awards
[edit] Sponsorship
[edit] References
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