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{{Short description|Defunct regional airline of the United Kingdom (2022–2023)}}{{about|the airline that re-launched in 2022 and ceased operations in 2023|the original Flybe that ceased operations in 2020|Flybe (1979–2020)}}{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

factoids

| ICAO = BEE| callsign = JERSEYPUBLISHER=COMPANIES HOUSE, 19 April 2022, URL=HTTPS://WWW.CAA.CO.UK/DATA-AND-ANALYSIS/APPROVED-PERSONS-AND-ORGANISATIONS/DATASETS/LISTS-OF-APPROVED-PERSONS-AND-ORGANISATIONS/HOLDERS-OF-AIR-OPERATOR-CERTIFICATES/ WEBSITE=WWW.CAA.CO.UK ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20211202204041/HTTPS://WWW.CAA.CO.UK/DATA-AND-ANALYSIS/APPROVED-PERSONS-AND-ORGANISATIONS/DATASETS/LISTS-OF-APPROVED-PERSONS-AND-ORGANISATIONS/HOLDERS-OF-AIR-OPERATOR-CERTIFICATES/, live, www.flybe.com}}}}Flybe (pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|l|aɪ|ˌ|b|iː}}), styled as flybe, was a British regional airline based at Birmingham Airport, England. It commenced operations using the name of a former airline in 2022, but ceased operations and entered administration on 28 January 2023.

History

Predecessor

The airline traces its history back to Jersey European Airways, which was set up in 1979 following the merger of Intra Airways and Express Air Services. The firm was renamed British European in 2000 and Flybe in 2002. In November 2006, Flybe purchased BA Connect, thereby becoming the largest regional airline in Europe. On 5 March 2020, this first airline named Flybe filed for administration and ceased all operations.

Relaunch

On 19 October 2020, reports emerged that Lucien Farrell, in charge of former shareholder Cyrus Capital's European office, had formed a new company, Thyme Opco, to purchase the Flybe brand and relaunch the airline, subject to regulatory approvals.NEWS, Flybe set to fly again after brand is rescued,weblink BBC News, 19 October 2020, 13 April 2022, 22 March 2022,weblink live, The new owner planned to "start small and restore regional connectivity in the UK" from 2021.NEWS, Dunn, Graham, Interest in revived Flybe shows continued faith in regional opportunity,weblink Flight Global, 20 October 2020, en, 13 April 2022, 9 May 2021,weblink live, On 1 December 2020, Thyme Opco applied for a UK operating licence.NEWS, Coffey, Helen, Flybe could soon take to the skies again,weblink The Independent, 3 December 2020, en, 13 April 2022, 17 February 2021,weblink live, Thyme Opco also registered a 21-year-old de Havilland Canada Dash 8 Q400, which was expected to be the first aircraft for the 'new Flybe',NEWS, Bailey, Joanna, Flybe 2.0 Becoming A Reality With First Aircraft Registration,weblink Simple Flying, 22 January 2021, 13 April 2022, 3 June 2021,weblink live, though this particular aircraft was subsequently transferred to PAL Airlines in Canada.WEB, MSN 4014,weblink 2022-04-19, Dash 8 World, en-US, {{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}In April 2021, the British Civil Aviation Authority granted the new airline an operating licence as well as Type A and B route licences, enabling the carrier to operate both charter and scheduled services.key.aero - Flybe 2.0 - Second time lucky? 2 January 2023 The new company also obtained 86 slots at Heathrow for the summer 2021 season, to be used for flights to Edinburgh and Aberdeen.WEB, UK's flybe. secures Heathrow slots,weblink 2022-05-15, ch-aviation, en, The 'original' Flybe company was renamed FBE Realisations 2021 Limited, with Thyme Opco Limited becoming Flybe Limited.WEB, Change of name notice,weblink Companies House, WEB, Change of name by resolution,weblink Companies House, On 3 June 2021, the operating licence for the original company was revoked following an unsuccessful appeal to the Transport Secretary. Despite initial beliefs that its legacy slots at UK airports had returned to the slot coordinator, this was shown not to be the case by coordinator ACL.WEB, Telford, William, 2021-10-13, Administrators look to claim cash from new Flybe company,weblink 2021-10-27, Business Live, en, 17 November 2021,weblink live, The new operating company also leased Heathrow slots from British Airways for routes to Edinburgh and Aberdeen.WEB, Completed Slot Trades - Airport Coordination Limited,weblink ACL Airport Coordination Limited Ltd, 16 May 2017, 28 June 2021,weblink 28 June 2021, On 26 October 2021, the new Flybe Limited confirmed that it had appointed David Pflieger as its chief executive.WEB, Ltd, Jacobs Media Group, Reborn Flybe appoints chief executive,weblink 2021-10-27, Travel Weekly, en, 22 November 2021,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20211122195646weblink">weblink live, This closely followed the appearance of an ex-Flybe Q400, registered as G-JECX, which had been painted with a new purple-and-white livery.WEB, Perry, Dominic, Flybe appoints ex-Ravn Air chief to spearhead relaunch as crew recruitment push continues, 26 October 2021,weblink 2021-10-27, Flight Global, limited, 26 October 2021,weblink live, In November 2021, the airline announced that it had picked Birmingham Airport as its new base, with operations scheduled to begin in early 2022 to "key regions across the UK and EU".NEWS, Perry, Dominic, Flybe picks Birmingham as first UK base and HQ,weblink Flight Global, 17 November 2021, en, 13 April 2022, 18 November 2021,weblink live, On 16 March 2022, Flybe announced that Belfast City would be the airline's second operating base.NEWS, Bodell, Luke, The New Flybe Will Launch Ticket Sales Next Week,weblink Simple Flying, 17 March 2022, 13 April 2022, 17 March 2022,weblink live, The company slogan was "Smile and go the extra mile".WEB, Safety Manager - Aviation,weblink LinkedIn, 24 July 2023, The first flight took place between Birmingham and Belfast on 13 April 2022.NEWS, Orban, André, Flybe's first flight takes to the skies from Birmingham Airport,weblink Aviation24.be, 13 April 2022, 13 April 2022, 13 April 2022,weblink live, The company aimed to operate up to 530 flights per week on 23 routes, using a fleet of up to 32 Q400 aircraft.NEWS, King, Ian, Flybe sets out to boldly achieve what no airline has done before,weblink Sky News, 13 April 2022, en,

Decline

Throughout its first months of operation, Flybe faced several operational issues, which it blamed on late aircraft deliveries. Twelve weeks after its launch, the company cancelled three routes, and reduced frequencies on five others but stated that they would return to their original frequencies during the winter.WEB, McDonald, Gary, 2022-07-07, More summer travel chaos as Flybe axes Belfast flights,weblink 2022-11-23, The Irish News, en, Planned services from Aberdeen to Belfast, as well as Inverness to both Belfast and Birmingham never commenced. In September, the airline announced new service to the Isle of Man from Belfast and London,NEWS, 2022-09-21, Flybe: Airline returns to Isle of Man with new flights, en-GB, BBC News,weblink 2022-11-23, however cancelled both services less than a month later, two days before the inaugural flights.NEWS, 2022-10-28, Flybe cancels scheduled Isle of Man winter flights, en-GB, BBC News,weblink 2022-11-23, The company was criticised for giving Isle of Man's airport less than 30{{nbsp}}minutes notice of its intention to cancel service,WEB, Cancer patients may be losing out, TT 2023's "clear benefits", City of Douglas yet to mark the fact, Flybe gave less than 30 mins notice to quit and 40 years ago today Manx Airlines started. It's Update with Andy Wint #iom #news #manxradio - Manx Radio - Update,weblink 2022-11-23, Manx Radio, en, and subsequently announcing similar routes from Newcastle on a near identical schedule, as despite stating the cancellation was due to aircraft shortages, the airline was required by Heathrow authorities to continue operating the route if it was to retain its highly valuable slots at the airport.WEB, Flybe to link Newcastle with London Heathrow,weblink 2022-11-23, Business Traveller, en-GB, In October 2022, Flybe ceased flights between Leeds and London,WEB, Airline drops service from Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA),weblink 2022-11-23, Bradford Telegraph and Argus, 9 November 2022, en, largely due to low demand as a result of competition from rail networks, and confirmed that it would not be resuming services.WEB, Airline confirms service will NOT be returning to Leeds Bradford Airport,weblink 2022-11-23, Bradford Telegraph and Argus, 10 November 2022, en, In the same month, the airline suspended flights to Southampton, planning to restart in February 2023, and further reduced frequencies again blaming late aircraft deliveries, despite having taken delivery of two additional aircraft which were reportedly unable to provide sufficient capacity.WEB, 2022-11-11, Flybe to scale back winter operation in Belfast due to 'unexpected late aircraft deliveries',weblink 2022-11-23, The Irish News, en,

Demise

On 28 January 2023, administrators were appointed and the airline ceased all operations.WEB,weblink Flybe: Regional carrier ceases trading and cancels all flights, BBC News, 28 January 2023, 28 January 2023, reuters.com - UK's Flybe enters administration, cancels all flights 28 January 2023 Some 75,000 passengers had their flights cancelled, including around 2,500 who had been due to fly that day. Out of 321 Flybe staff at the time, 277 were declared redundant. In a response, competitors easyJet and Ryanair encouraged the laid off staff to apply for jobs in their companies.NEWS,weblink Ryanair and EasyJet ready to snap up Flybe staff, 29 January 2023, BBC News, January 30, 2023, Aer Lingus Regional announced that it would serve destinations previously operated by Flybe from Belfast.NEWS, Aer Lingus Regional Takes Over Two Flybe Routes from Belfast,weblink 2 February 2023, The administrators expressed hopes that a rescue deal could be struck and noted their intent "to preserve scaled-back elements of the operating platform for a short period".NEWS, Perry, Dominic, Late aircraft delivery contributed to Flybe collapse, say administrators,weblink Flight Global, 28 January 2023, en, In this respect, the administrators applied for a temporary operating licence, valid for up to 12 months, to enable a restructuring proposal to be developed. Talks were held with the Lufthansa and Air France–KLM groups, which were both potentially interested in buying Flybe's assets, including in particular its slots at Heathrow and Schiphol. The Heathrow slots were held by Flybe as part of the conditions imposed by competition regulators following British Airways' 2012 acquisition of BMI, and cannot be sold separately but only acquired as part of the business.NEWS, CAA considers granting temporary operating licence to Flybe administrators,weblink Travel Weekly, 8 February 2022, NEWS, Gill, Oliver, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM circle collapsed Flybe,weblink The Telegraph, 4 February 2023, subscription, NEWS,weblink Reuters, Lufthansa, Air France-KLM eye Flybe landing slots, report says, 4 February 2023, 5 February 2023, Despite "intensive" discussions with interested parties, no agreement was reached and on 15 February the administrators announced that the company would be wound down and the aircraft returned to lessors.NEWS, Kaminski-Morrow, David, UK's Flybe to be wound down as 'complexities' thwart rescue efforts,weblink Flight Global, 15 February 2023, en, The airline lost an average of £4{{nbsp}}million to £5{{nbsp}}million per month, and {{as of|2023|3|lc=on}}, administrators expect the total deficiency, after realising the airline's assets and paying preferential creditors, to amount to £82{{nbsp}}million.NEWS, Perry, Dominic, Failed Flybe was 'losing millions per month', say administrators, as total deficiency tops £82m,weblink Flight Global, 30 March 2023, en, Flybe's landing slots at Heathrow have reverted to British Airways and the slots at Schiphol have been taken by the Dutch slot allocation authority.WEB,weblink 8, Joint Administrators' proposals: Flybe Limited - in Administration, 20 March 2023, Interpath, 31 March 2023,

Corporate affairs

The company's head office is on the second floor of Diamond House at Birmingham Airport,WEB,weblink Conditions of carriage, Flybe, 2022-05-21, Our address is: 2nd Floor, Diamond House, Birmingham Airport, Birmingham, B26 3QJ., within the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull.WEB,weblink LeisureParksEvents_Cycling_and_Walking_foldout_map.pdf, Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, 2022-05-21,

Parent company

Flybe Limited, founded in September 2020 as Thyme Opco, is a private limited company which is owned by Thyme Investco Limited - the majority of whose shares are held by DLP Holdings SARL,WEB, Flybe Ltd Companies House Confirmation Statement 2021,weblink Companies House, WEB, Thyme Investco Ltd Companies House Confirmation Statement 2021,weblink Companies House, an affiliate of American hedge fund Cyrus Capital Partners. This was the same company which was involved in the purchase of the original Flybe in 2019.WEB, Formation of Aviation Joint Venture – Company Announcement - FT.com,weblink 2022-04-10, markets.ft.com, 13 April 2022,weblink live,

Services

Flybe's Q400 airliners were outfitted with 78 all-economy seats,WEB, Flybe Bombardier Q400 Seating Chart - Updated April 2022 - SeatLink,weblink 2022-04-10, www.seatlink.com, 13 April 2022,weblink live, and several different ticketing options were available.WEB, Ticket Types,weblink 2022-05-06, www.flybe.com, All passengers received a complimentary drink and snack on board, regardless of fare.WEB, Onboard refreshments,weblink Flybe FAQ, 2022-05-03,

Destinations

{{As of|May 2022}}, Flybe sold tickets on 22 routes to 16 destinations.WEB, Routes Operated,weblink 2022-05-03, www.flybe.com, WEB, 7 September 2022, Flybe Adds Geneva to Its Birmingham Winter Schedule,weblink 8 September 2022, Airways Magazine, WEB, Our Winter 2022/3 Network,weblink 20 September 2022, Flybe, All flights were cancelled and not to be rescheduled as of 28 January 2023.{|class="wikitable sortable"|+Previous Flybe destinations! Country! City! Airport! NotesFranceAvignonAvignon Airport{{Airline seasonal}}Brest, France>BrestBrest Bretagne Airport{{Airline seasonal}}Toulon>Toulon Airport>|Netherlands>Amsterdam >Amsterdam Airport Schiphol>|Switzerland>Geneva>Geneva Airport>|{{Airline seasonal}}United KingdomBelfast>George Best Belfast City Airport>|{{Airline hub}}Birmingham>Birmingham Airport>|{{Airline hub}}East Midlands>East Midlands Airport>|Edinburgh>Edinburgh Airport>|Glasgow>Glasgow Airport>|Leeds>Leeds Bradford Airport>|London>Heathrow Airport>|Manchester>Manchester Airport>|Newcastle upon Tyne>NewcastleNewcastle International Airport>|Newquay>Newquay Airport>|Southampton>Southampton Airport>|

Fleet

File:G-JECX at Birmingham, January 2022.jpg|thumb|A Flybe de Havilland Canada Dash 8 Q400 at Birmingham AirportBirmingham AirportBefore entering administration, the Flybe fleet consisted of the following aircraft.WEB, Search the G-INFO aircraft register {{!, Civil Aviation Authority |url=https://www.caa.co.uk/aircraft-register/g-info/search-g-info/ |website=www.caa.co.uk|date=2022-10-01|access-date=2022-10-01}} Flybe was expected to expand to a total of 32 aircraft. Nordic Aviation Capital expected to lease 12 aircraft to Flybe,WEB,weblink NAC delivers one DHC8-400, MSN 4155, to Flybe Limited on lease, Nordic Aviation Capital, 26 November 2021, and Aergo Capital was to supply a further five.WEB, 2022-05-30, Flybe is now operating the first of five Aergo Capital Q400s under long-term leases,weblink 2022-05-30, AVIATOR, en, {| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em auto; text-align:center"|+ Flybe fleet!Aircraft!Total!Orders!Passengers!Notes|de Havilland Canada Dash 8 Q400|9|—|78|

References

{{reflist}}

Further reading

• BOOK, Richardson, Nigel, Flybe, Airlines Series, Vol. 12, 2023, Key Publishing, Stamford, Lincs, UK, 9781802823578, {{GBurl, b0dazwEACAAJ, |language=en}}

External links

• {{Official websiteweblink}}

{{Airlines of the United Kingdom}}