Flybe

[Finger66]

Rumours circulating of a Flybe press release early today. Generic and not LBA specific apparently. So may just be worth keeping an ear to the ground today. I haven't found or heard anything concrete as yet though

 

[Jerry]

Rumours circulating of a Flybe press release early today. Generic and not LBA specific apparently. So may just be worth keeping an ear to the ground today. I haven't found or heard anything concrete as yet though

I think this might be it.
https://otp.investis.com/clients/uk/flybe1/rns/regulatory-story.aspx?cid=59&newsid=1234629

 

[paully]

Sounds like Tinkler coming at it again but from a different direction. One half of me just wants a takeover asap to protect jobs and services. Yet another half asks why and what?..If this Connect outfit have done due diligence they cannot fail to be aware that Flybe have horrendous overheads and burn through money like the Stepford Wives. In which case what are they going to get out of it and how long can they continue with it,without it threatening their own companies . A lot doesn`t add up.

As for Tinkler I`m drawn to the conclusion its a rather large ego trip..

 

[Jerry]

In the statement Flybe have said that the bid is too late and the Connect bid is the only one and that the sale will go through. They've used £15 million out of £20 million of the loan which has to be paid back by Friday. The credit card companies have withheld £50 million from them so I'd have thought that once the sale goes through that will be released to pay the loan back.

 

[Finger66]

Heard pretty much the same now through industry channels this morning. Personally the alternative to the Connect deal, on the basis nothing in the Mesa suggestion, doesn't even bear thinking about. All parties have to ensure there is a happy ending. Time the politicians woke up and realised their contribution to the current aviation turmoil

 

[Finger66]

So I think we can take the below as a good indication of the direction Flybe's new owners want to go:
LHR to EDI is being increased to 6 a day during the week and a new once daily flight between LHR and GCI. Admittedly the latter is being GCI govt subsidised but on top of the recently announced NQY to LHR service there does unsurprisingly appear to be a focus on feed to VS at LHR

 

[Jerry]

So I think we can take the below as a good indication of the direction Flybe's new owners want to go:
LHR to EDI is being increased to 6 a day during the week and a new once daily flight between LHR and GCI. Admittedly the latter is being GCI govt subsidised but on top of the recently announced NQY to LHR service there does unsurprisingly appear to be a focus on feed to VS at LHR

The Newquay service is also subsidised. EDI, ABZ and NQY are services using the IAG remedial slots. It looks like GCI uses the Cobalt slots so essentially Flybe are getting paid to slot sit for Virgin. If Virgin want a proper domestic feed then they are going to have to give up a lot more than 1 daily slot.

 

[Finger66]

Agreed but those pax that may come the new GCI route would have only travelled by a n other route whether point to point or as a connection so VS will feel it's better to them than someone else. My additional point I suppose was that aircraft utilisation looks like it is going to be focused on LHR which is likely to be to the detriment of regionals. May or may not be LBA included but you can see where that immediate focus is

 

[Jerry]

Agreed but those pax that may come the new GCI route would have only travelled by a n other route whether point to point or as a connection so VS will feel it's better to them than someone else. My additional point I suppose was that aircraft utilisation looks like it is going to be focused on LHR which is likely to be to the detriment of regionals. May or may not be LBA included but you can see where that immediate focus is

Flybe has been expanding into Heathrow over the last couple of years and this is just a continuation of that. Virgin have always had feed available for them through BA and that is more extensive than Flybe . I guess time will only tell but if Virgin wants it's own proper feed then they'll start mirroring BAs network . I personally think that a lot of the Flybe ops at LHR is essentially PR for Heathrow to prove they are the UKs hub.

 

[lbaspotter]

Flybe have just posted on there twitter account that there sale to "Connet Airways" has been successful.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1098676330659569665

 

[Aviador]

If Virgin connect or whatever they are can turn the airlines fortune around the share price will rise again.

 

[Jobsagoodun]

Shares issued are in Flybe Group Plc, the holding company that owned the airline, digital company and engineering arm of the business. There are no shares issued in the airline. The completion of the sale of the limited companies today means that the remaining Plc group no longer contains any assets and therefore nothing of any value so the share price is highly unlikely to ever rise again.

 

[Finger66]

Maybe, just maybe, finally this deal will be some good news for the UK aviation industry. Not sure where the regionals will end up. We won't lose our BHD flights but I am not as confident in the likes of NQY and DUS. However will the new owners actually realise LBA's potential.............

 

[White Heather]

Maybe, just maybe, finally this deal will be some good news for the UK aviation industry. Not sure where the regionals will end up. We won't lose our BHD flights but I am not as confident in the likes of NQY and DUS. However will the new owners actually realise LBA's potential.............

Lets hope that our new owners at LBA are on the ball and ensure that they quickly remind Connect of that potential.

 

[AirBingley]

It would make sense to consolidate one airframe from Doncaster to something more scaleable - like LBA especially with the volume Belfast shifts - also my recollection of my last DUS flight was that it was rammed to capacity. Virgin also has close links with Skyteam so maybe just maybe it might be the route to an AF code share and the other routes preserved.

 

[rmac]

AirBingley's idea to consolidate an airframe at LBA from DSA seems to me very sensible. There is already a mature route to Belfast and Dusseldorf seems to be doing okay too, with a crying out need to serve CDG on an early daily basis. DSA could then be served on a W pattern to those routes that warrant retaining, eg BHD. In time I could see a 2 aircraft base, E75's, at LBA for Flybe (Connect/Virgin) doing very well with good prospects for growth elsewhere in Europe.

 

[AirBingley]

AirBingley's idea to consolidate an airframe at LBA from DSA seems to me very sensible. There is already a mature route to Belfast and Dusseldorf seems to be doing okay too, with a crying out need to serve CDG on an early daily basis. DSA could then be served on a W pattern to those routes that warrant retaining, eg BHD. In time I could see a 2 aircraft base, E75's, at LBA for Flybe (Connect/Virgin) doing very well with good prospects for growth elsewhere in Europe.

Agreed and the prospect of the propellor equipment going elsewhere and being replaced with jets is also appealing

 

[dmrodgers]

Agreed and the prospect of the propellor equipment going elsewhere and being replaced with jets is also appealing

Exactly. I know of two people recently who will not fly to DUS with Flybe out of Leeds because it is a propeller aircraft and are prepared to travel over the hill to catch a jet. These are just two, I wonder how many more feel the same.

 

[Finger66]

Trade press from Flybe today does state quite clearly about a focus on expanding the feed to VS at LHR and MAN when confirming the sale to Connect also. We know S19 basically remains in tact. No further details beyond that were given

 

[Seasider]

C'mon, the sale has just gone through, don't get carried away.