Flybe Looks To Reboot in the Summer

Flybe Dash 8s seen at Manchester Airport many years ago. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

One of the UK's most known regional carriers looks to be making a comeback in time for the Summer season. 

Flybe used to operate at around 81 airports around the UK and Europe, but in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and BREXIT, the airline collapsed, putting 2,400 people out of work.

The airline was then forced to sell its assets to Thyme Ocpo, who are now looking to restart ASAP. 

A Flybe spokesperson commented on this, thanking everyone involved for getting the airline back in the skies:

“We are extremely excited to announce the conclusion of almost six months of dedicated hard work by the great team at Flybe, the UK Civil Aviation Authority, the European Commission, and the many others who made this announcement possible,”

“Subject to further success with vaccinations and relaxation of travel restrictions, we plan to launch a new and much-improved Flybe sometime this summer on many of our former routes where there remains a critical need for a strong, reliable, and customer-focused airline.”

“While our company will initially be smaller than before, we intend to grow, create valuable jobs, and make significant contributions to essential regional connectivity in the UK and EU,” 

The Image Above: Flybe's flight statistics for the first quarter of 2020 before its collapse. Click here to check out more statistics about Flybe!

Data from Flybe's last quarter in operation, which was Q1 2020 shows that the airline was operating an average of 290 flights per day, which is substantial for a regional carrier in a small country.

Before its demise, it was even expanding its footprint further into the likes of Paris (CDG), Amsterdam (AMS), and Luxembourg (LUX). 

What this ultimately shows us is that the brand was very successful at that point, but they may have some issues growing.

When the airline went into administration, competitor Loganair stepped in and secured 42 of 46 domestic routes that the airline had to give up.

Loganair is also expanding into other areas of the country as well, which could potentially bring on a price war with the likes of Flybe.

Therefore, a successful combination of price point and frequencies will be needed if Flybe has anything to gain from re-launching.