Flybe says operations continuing after reports of rescue talks
Airline declines to comment on suggestion it is in emergency financing discussions
Flybe has said its operations are continuing as normal after reports that it was in last-ditch talks to stave off collapse less than a year after it escaped insolvency.
Europe’s largest regional airline was thrust into the spotlight overnight after Sky News reported it was in discussions to secure extra financing amid mounting losses, with accounting firm EY on standby to handle the potential administration of the group.
In a statement early on Monday, the group said: “Flybe continues to provide great service and connectivity for our customers while ensuring they can continue to travel as planned. We don’t comment on rumour or speculation.”
The reports come less than a year after Connect Airways — a consortium of Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Air and Cyrus Capital — stepped in to prevent Flybe from going bankrupt.
Connect paid £2.8m for Flybe’s operations and a further £2.2m for the parent company, which valued it at 1p a share — a price the airline had previously described as “disappointingly low”.
Christine Ourmières-Widener, who oversaw the sale of the group as chief executive, stepped down last July after two and a half years at the helm. She was replaced by Virgin Atlantic’s Mark Anderson, who heads up the new parent group.
Flybe has been in operation since 1979 and carries around 8m passengers annually between 71 airports across the UK and Europe. A collapse of the group would put the jobs of its more than 2,400 employees at risk.
John Strickland, an aviation consultant, said the news came as a surprise despite the “challenging” background and losses of the airline.
Flybe maintains an unusually large fleet for a regional carrier, he said, which may have resulted in unaccounted for capacity in a smaller market susceptible to seasonal fluctuations.
According to Monday’s reports, the government has been briefed on the situation. But a Department for Transport spokesperson said it does not “comm