Flybe - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Flybe Group PLC is a British low-cost

Low-cost carrier

A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...

Regional airline

Regional airlines are airlines that operate regional aircraft to provide passenger air service to communities without sufficient demand to attract mainline service...

headquartered at the Jack Walker House at Exeter International Airport

Exeter International Airport

Exeter International Airport is an airport located at Clyst Honiton in the District of East Devon close to the city of Exeter and within the county of Devon, South West England....

in Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It operates over 180 routes to 65 European airports and is Europe's largest regional airline, carrying over 6.7 million passengers during 2010.

In December 2010, Flybe raised £

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

66m from a stock market flotation and is now listed on the London Stock Exchange

London Stock Exchange

The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...

. The airline employs around 2,800 people.

Flybe's largest base is Southampton Airport

Southampton Airport

Southampton Airport is the 20th largest airport in the UK, located north north-east of Southampton, in the Borough of Eastleigh within Hampshire, England....

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

Channel Islands

The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...

and Isle of Man

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

.

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.

The company operates a strong regional network in the Nordics and Baltics after acquisition in collaboration with Finnair

Finnair

Finnair Plc is the flag carrier and largest airline of Finland, with its headquarters on the grounds of Helsinki Airport in Vantaa, Finland, and its main hub at Helsinki Airport. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both the domestic and international air travel markets in Finland. The largest...

of the Finnish airline, Finncomm Airlines

Finncomm Airlines

Finnish Commuter Airlines Oy operating as Flybe Nordic, trading as Finncomm Airlines, was a regional airline with its head office on the grounds of Seinäjoki Airport in Ilmajoki, Finland, near Seinäjoki. The carrier operates flights to Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, Romania, Sweden and 16...

since rebranded as Flybe Nordic

Flybe Nordic

Flybe Nordic is an airline, jointly owned by Flybe and Finnair, and began operations on 30 October 2011.-History:The airline was announced on 1 July 2011, when Flybe and Finnair revealed plans to jointly purchase Finnish Commuter Airlines and rebrand the airline Flybe Nordic, with Flybe and...

. The goal is to become the biggest regional player in the Northern European region.

History

Flybe started operations on 1 November 1979 as Jersey European Airways (JEA), as a result of a merger of Jersey-based Intra Airways

Intra Airways

Intra Airways Limited was a private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline formed in 1969. Initially, it was a charter airline operating passenger and cargo charters from the Channel Islands to the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. Scheduled services...

and Bournemouth

Bournemouth

Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...

-based Express Air Services. 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

Jersey

Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...

to the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. Jersey European Airways was taken over in November 1983 by Jack Walker

Jack Walker

Jack Walker was a British industrialist and businessman, from Blackburn, Lancashire. Walker invested tens of millions of pounds in Blackburn Rovers football club after amassing a personal fortune of £600 million...

's Walker Steel Group

Walkersteel

Walkersteel is a major steel processing company based in Blackburn, Lancashire. The firm was originally established by the Walker family before sons Fred and Jack Walker turned the business into a major concern....

who were already the parent company of Blackpool

Blackpool

Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...

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, with the airline's headquarters moving to Exeter

Exeter

Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...

.

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

Low-cost carrier

A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...

. On 3 November 2006 it was announced that agreement in principle had been reached for Flybe to acquire BA Connect

BA Connect

BA Connect was a fully owned subsidiary airline of British Airways. Headquartered in Didsbury, Manchester, England, it operated a network of domestic and European services from a number of airports in the United Kingdom on behalf of British Airways...

, with the exception of London City Airport

London City Airport

London City Airport is a single-runway airport. It principally serves the financial district of London and is located on a former Docklands site, east of the City of London, opposite the London Regatta Centre, in the London Borough of Newham in east London. It was developed by the engineering...

services. The acquisition was completed in March 2007. The airline is owned by Rosedale Aviation Holdings (69%), Flybe staff (16%) and International Airlines Group

International Airlines Group

International Airlines Group is a multinational airline holding company headquartered in London, United Kingdom and with its registered office in Madrid, Spain...

(15%) as a consequence of the acquisition of BA Connect

BA Connect

. It had 3,000 employees at January 2008. Chief Executive Officer Jim French was recognised in the 2009 Queen's Birthday Honours

Queen's Birthday Honours

The Queen's Birthday Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the celebration of the Queen's Official Birthday in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen...

List with a CBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

for his services to the airline industry.

In the financial year to March 2010, Flybe had a turnover of more than £

Pound sterling

570 million and had around 2,800 employees.

Acquisition of BA Connect

On 5 March 2007 Flybe completed the acquisition of the former regional airline business of British Airways

British Airways

British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...

. 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

BA Connect

's London City Airport

London City Airport

routes, which have been taken over by BA CityFlyer

BA CityFlyer

BA CityFlyer is a wholly owned subsidiary airline of British Airways based in Didsbury, Manchester, England. It operates a network of domestic and European services from London City Airport...

) has increased Flybe's route network in both the UK and continental Europe making Flybe Europe's largest regional airline.

Loganair franchise agreement

On 14 January 2008 it was announced that Flybe had signed a franchise

Franchising

Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....

agreement with Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

airline Loganair

Loganair

Loganair is a Scottish airline with its registered office on the grounds of Glasgow International Airport and in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. Loganair operates scheduled services under a Flybe franchise in mainland Scotland and to Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles. In addition it operates...

, 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

Scotland

Stock market flotation

On 10 December 2010, Flybe floated on the London Stock Exchange

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 £

Pound sterling

215 million, and raising £

Pound sterling

66 million for the company, half of which will go towards fleet expansion.

Destinations

Flybe operates short haul services to destinations throughout the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

and continental Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

Fleet

As of July 2011, the Flybe fleet includes the following aircraft, with an average age of 4.3 years.

Flybe Fleet
Aircraft	In service	On order	Passengers
Bombardier Dash 8 Q400	53	2	78
Embraer E-175	0	35	88
Embraer E-195	14	–	118
Total	67	37

Aircraft orders

On 6 June 2005, Flybe placed an order for 14 Embraer E-195
Embraer E-Jets
The Embraer E-Jets are a series of narrow-body, twin-engine, medium-range, jet airliners produced by Embraer, a Brazilian aerospace conglomerate that produces commercial, military, and corporate aircraft. Announced at the Paris Air Show in 1999, and entering production in 2002, the aircraft series...

aircraft plus options on an additional 12 aircraft. Flybe is the worldwide launch customer for the Embraer E-195. Delivery of the aircraft started in September 2006. The new aircraft were to replace Flybe's BAe 146
BAe 146
The British Aerospace 146 is a medium-sized commercial airliner formerly manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2002. Manufacture of an improved version known as the Avro RJ began in 1992...

aircraft, completing the fleet rationalisation started in 2003 which also includes an order for up to 61 Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft (41 firm orders and 20 options).

On 14 June 2005, Flybe converted four existing Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 options into firm orders bringing its fleet of Q400s to 45 aircraft when they are delivered.

On 1 September 2006, the airline received its first 118-seat Embraer 195, the launch customer of the product. Fitted with single Head-up Guidance System (HGS) and configured to offer single-class service, the aircraft is intended to replace the airline’s BAe 146s.

In May 2007, the airline signed a deal for 15 Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft valued at $394 million, with options for a further 15. It is the world's largest Q400 operator and this order will increase its Q400 fleet to 60.

On 20 July 2010, Flybe placed an order for 35 Embraer E-175
Embraer E-Jets
The Embraer E-Jets are a series of narrow-body, twin-engine, medium-range, jet airliners produced by Embraer, a Brazilian aerospace conglomerate that produces commercial, military, and corporate aircraft. Announced at the Paris Air Show in 1999, and entering production in 2002, the aircraft series...

aircraft worth $1.3bn, with options for 65 more (value $2.3bn) and purchase rights for a further 40 (value $1.4bn). The 88-seat aircraft will be delivered between July 2011 and March 2017..

Previously operated

BAC One-Eleven
BAC One-Eleven
The British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven, also known as the BAC-111, BAC-1-11 or BAC 1-11, was a British short-range jet airliner of the 1960s and 1970s...
BAe 146
BAe 146
The British Aerospace 146 is a medium-sized commercial airliner formerly manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2002. Manufacture of an improved version known as the Avro RJ began in 1992...
Boeing 737-300
Boeing 737 Classic
The Boeing 737 Classic is the name given to the -300/-400/-500 series of the Boeing 737 following the introduction of the -600/-700/-800/-900 series. They are short- to medium- range, narrow-body jet airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The Classic series was introduced as the 'new...

Leased
Bombardier CRJ200
Bombardier CRJ200
The Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 are a family of regional airliner manufactured by Bombardier, and based on the Canadair Challenger business jet.-Development:...
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
The DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian 19-passenger STOL utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada and currently produced by Viking Air. The aircraft's fixed tricycle undercarriage, STOL abilities and high rate of climb have made it a successful cargo, regional passenger airliner and MEDEVAC...
Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante
Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante
The Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante is a general purpose 15-21 passenger twin-turboprop light transport aircraft suitable for military and civil duties...
Embraer ERJ 145
Embraer ERJ 145 family
The Embraer ERJ 145 family is a series of regional jets produced by Embraer, a Brazilian aerospace company. Family members include the ERJ 135 , ERJ 140 , and ERJ 145 , as well as the Legacy business jet and the R-99 family of military aircraft. The ERJ 145 is the largest of the group...
Fokker F27
Fokker F27
The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.-Design and development:Design of the Fokker F27 started in the 1950s as a replacement to the successful Douglas DC-3 airliner...
Hawker Siddeley HS 748
Short 360
Bombardier Dash 8 300

Cabin and onboard service

Flybe employs allocated seating on all flights and passengers have the option to choose a seat online in advance. Economy Plus ticket holders receive a complimentary drink and snack, access to Flybe Executive Lounges, free prebooked seating and priority check-in. For Economy passengers, the airline operates a buy on board

Buy on board

In commercial flight, buy on board is a system where food or beverages are paid for on board; often food or beverages are not included in the ticket price for certain fare classes....

programme, called "Deli in the Sky", offering food and drinks for purchase.

The airline offers gifts and fragrances for sale on all flights, as well as duty free cigarettes and spirits on flights to destinations that are outside of the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

, including Jersey

Jersey

and Guernsey

Guernsey

Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...

. Onboard sales are an important part of the airline's ancillary revenue

Ancillary revenue

Ancillary revenue refers to airline revenue from non-ticket sources, such as baggage fees and on-board food and services, and has become an important financial component for low-cost carriers in Europe, the United States and other global regions...

Passenger numbers

Flybe carried over 6.7 million passengers during 2010, a 0.4% increase compared with 2009. 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

EasyJet

EasyJet Airline Company Limited is a British airline headquartered at London Luton Airport. It carries more passengers than any other United Kingdom-based airline, operating domestic and international scheduled services on 500 routes between 118 European, North African, and West Asian airports...

-branded flight). It carried 451,413 domestic passengers during April 2009, excluding franchise flights operated by Loganair

Loganair

. This puts Flybe in pole position among the UK's domestic carriers, ahead of easyJet

EasyJet

, British Airways

British Airways

, BMI Group

Bmi (airline)

British Midland Airways Limited , is an airline based at Donington Hall in Castle Donington in the United Kingdom, close to East Midlands Airport, and a fully owned subsidiary of Lufthansa...

and Ryanair

Ryanair

Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline. Its head office is at Dublin Airport and its primary operational bases at Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airport....

. During that period Flybe also became Gatwick's leading domestic operator.


Year	Total passengers	Total flights	Load factor	Passenger Change YoY
2005	4,683,482	80,919	67.7%
2006	4,536,841	86,044	63.3%	3.1%
2007	6,050,211	133,979	61.3%	33.4%
2008	6,854,491	139,891	63.6%	13.3%
2009	6,708,253	137,150	60.6%	2.1%
2010	6,737,698	144,429	61.0%	0.4%
^{Source: UK Civil Aviation AuthorityUnited Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority The Civil Aviation Authority is the public corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of aviation in the United Kingdom. The CAA head office is located in the CAA House on Kingsway in Holborn, London Borough of Camden...}

Financial performance


Financial year ended	Turnover (£ Pound sterling The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence... m)	Profit / (Loss) before tax (£ Pound sterling The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence... m)	Net Profit / (Loss) (£ Pound sterling The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence... m)
2007	367.5	(16.2)	(19.9)
2008	535.9	30.4	34.9
2009	572.4	0.1	4.1
2010	570.5	5.7	6.7
2011	595.5	7.6	3.8
^{Note: Flybe financial year runs to 31 March Source: Flybe Reports and Accounts}

Flybe Nordic

A joint-venture with Finnair

Finnair

was announced in 2011. The company is called Flybe Nordic

Flybe Nordic

and it started operations 30 October 2011, when Finncomm Airlines

Finncomm Airlines

was renamed as Flybe Nordic

Flybe Nordic

as a result of ownership change. Route structure of the airline consists of franchise routes operated for Finnair

Finnair

and Flybe Nordic

Flybe Nordic

own routes under BE- code. Also flights with BE- designator are code-shared with Finnair

Finnair

. Developments in the company have already started as published by Airliner World

Loganair

Flybe operates many flights in Scotland

Scotland

through a franchise

Franchise

Franchise generally means a right or privilege. It may refer to:*Suffrage, the civil right to vote*Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business, such as:...

agreement with Loganair

Loganair

Codeshares

Flybe has codeshare agreements with several airlines, including:

Air France
Air France
Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...
British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...

– primarily routes to and from London Gatwick
London Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport is located 3.1 miles north of the centre of Crawley, West Sussex, and south of Central London. Previously known as London Gatwick,In 2010, the name changed from London Gatwick Airport to Gatwick Airport...
Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways is the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates. Established in July 2003 and based at Abu Dhabi International Airport, Etihad commenced operations in November 2003....

– A codeshare between Flybe and Etihad became effective on the 13 November 2009.
Finnair
Finnair
Finnair Plc is the flag carrier and largest airline of Finland, with its headquarters on the grounds of Helsinki Airport in Vantaa, Finland, and its main hub at Helsinki Airport. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both the domestic and international air travel markets in Finland. The largest...

– On all Flybe Nordic
Flybe Nordic
Flybe Nordic is an airline, jointly owned by Flybe and Finnair, and began operations on 30 October 2011.-History:The airline was announced on 1 July 2011, when Flybe and Finnair revealed plans to jointly purchase Finnish Commuter Airlines and rebrand the airline Flybe Nordic, with Flybe and...

routes to and from of Helsinki and Tallinn bases

Flybe has other interline arrangements with American Airlines

American Airlines

American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...

, BMI

Bmi (airline)

British Midland Airways Limited , is an airline based at Donington Hall in Castle Donington in the United Kingdom, close to East Midlands Airport, and a fully owned subsidiary of Lufthansa...

, Continental Airlines

Continental Airlines

Continental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...

, Emirates Airline

Emirates Airline

Emirates is the airline based in the Emirate of Dubai part of the United Arab Emirates . Based at Dubai International Airport it is the largest airline in the Middle East, operating over 2,400 flights per week, from its hub at Terminal 3, to 111 cities in 62 countries across six continents...

, Ghana International Airlines

Ghana International Airlines

Ghana International Airlines was the national airline of the Republic of Ghana. The airline suspended operations on 13 May 2010..GIA operated scheduled and charter passenger and cargo services...

, Korean Air

Korean Air

Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd. , operating as Korean Air, is both the flag carrier and the largest airline of South Korea, with global headquarters located in Seoul, South Korea. Korean Air's international passenger division and related subsidiary cargo division together serve 130 cities in 45...

, Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines Limited is the flag carrier airline of Singapore. Singapore Airlines operates a hub at Changi Airport and has a strong presence in the Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and "Kangaroo Route" markets...

, TAP Portugal

TAP Portugal

TAP Portugal, commonly known as TAP, is the national airline of Portugal. It has its head office in Building 25 on the grounds of Portela Airport in Lisbon, and has been a member of the Star Alliance since 14 March 2005, the same day on which the company celebrated its 60th anniversary...

, US Airways

US Airways

US Airways, Inc. is a major airline based in the U.S. city of Tempe, Arizona. The airline is an operating unit of US Airways Group and is the sixth largest airline by traffic and eighth largest by market value in the country....

and Virgin Atlantic.

Sponsorship

On 24 April 2006 Flybe announced a 3-year deal with Southampton Football Club for sponsorship of the main club and shirt. On 11 December 2008, it was announced that Flybe had extended the deal by an extra year. However, this sponsorship deal has now ended with the club's decision to keep the club's shirts free of sponsorship for its 125th anniversary. Flybe are also the main and shirt sponsor of Exeter City Football Club
Exeter City F.C.
Exeter City Football Club is an English football club, based in Exeter, which is owned by its fans through the Exeter City Supporters Trust.The club was a member of the Football League from 1920 to 2003...

and Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club are a Scottish football club from Inverness who compete in the Scottish Premier League. They are currently managed by Terry Butcher and assistant manager Maurice Malpas...

.
Flybe formerly sponsored Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...

(2006–2008), Birmingham City (2003–2007) and Southampton F.C. (2006–2010)
Flybe sponsor the weather bulletins on ITV Meridian, STV, ITV South West
ITV South West
ITV West & Westcountry, also known as ITV South West, is a non-franchise ITV regional station covering the South West of England and incorporating the former ITV West and ITV Westcountry regions.-History:...

, Channel Television
Channel Television
Channel Television is a British television station which has served as an Independent Television contractor to the Channel Islands since 1962. It is based in Jersey...

and UTV
UTV
UTV is a television channel based in the UK region of Northern Ireland. The channel is the Channel 3 or Independent Television licensee for Northern Ireland and is operated by UTV Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of UTV Media.- Terrestrial :* Analogue: Normally tuned to 3 * Freeview : 3...

, along with the sport sections of the Manchester Evening News, The Express and Echo (Exeter), Echo (Cardiff), The Courier (Isle of Man) and The Examiner (Isle of Man). ITV weather bulletins are mostly sponsored by low-cost airlines, with Bmi Baby
Bmibaby
Bmibaby Limited is a small British low-cost airline and a subsidiary of British Midland International. It flies to destinations in the UK and Europe from its bases at Belfast-City, Birmingham and East Midlands airports....

and Jet2.com
Jet2.com
Jet2.com Limited is a British low-cost airline based at Leeds Bradford Airport, England. It operates services from eight UK bases to 54 destinations. The airline also offers contract charter and air cargo services. Its main base and headquarters is at Leeds Bradford Airport, with smaller bases at...

also sponsoring regional weather.

Norwich airport rebate incident

In 2008, in order to avoid losing a £280,000 rebate from Norwich Airport

Norwich International Airport

Norwich International Airport , also known as Norwich Airport, is an airport in the City of Norwich within Norfolk, England north of the city centre and on the edge of the city's suburbs....

, Flybe hired 172 actors as "fake passengers" on 11 flights to Dublin. As a result the environmental group Friends of the Earth

Friends of the Earth

Friends of the Earth International is an international network of environmental organizations in 76 countries.FOEI is assisted by a small secretariat which provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns...

called on the government to launch an investigation into the aviation industry.

Awards

October 2011: Gold Punctuality Award (see Flybe/News/Archive/October 2011)
November 2009: Most Environmentally and Socially Responsible Budget Airline’ award at The British Travel Awards 2009 (Second year running)
October 2009: ICARUS Environmental Award at the Environmental Supplier Awards organised by the Institute of Travel and Meetings (ITM) UK and Ireland
September 2009: European Airline MRO of the Year by AVIATION WEEK’s Overhaul and Maintenance (O&M) magazine.
January 2009: Air Transport World 2009 Global Regional Airline of the year
December 2008: Buying Business Travel ‘Green Diamond’ award for environmental commitment
November 2008:
- Best Domestic Airline at the 16th Annual Scottish Passenger Agents Association (SPAA) Travel Awards
- Most Environmentally Responsible Budget Airline award at the British Travel Awards
October 2008:
- Brussels Airport Environmental Award for 2008
- Number 1 in the Sunday Times 2008 Top Track 250 of privately-owned companies
September 2008: Special Merit for Commitment to the Environment Award at the 2008 Budgie Awards
July 2008: Jim French awarded 2008 Regional Leadership Award at the Global Airline Strategy Awards
March 2008: Franco-British Chamber of Commerce Achievement of the Year Award
June 2007: Flight International ‘Best Management Team 2007’ Award

External links

Official website

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.