General Industry

Flybe Adds London City Routes In UK, Ireland Expansion

By Publications Checkout
Flybe Adds London City Routes In UK, Ireland Expansion

Flybe Group Plc (FLYB), Europe’s largest independent regional airline, will add routes between London City Airport and destinations in the UK and Ireland in a push to attract business travelers. 

Flybe will deploy five Bombardier Inc. (BBD/B) Q400 planes to serve Edinburgh and Dublin four times daily, Belfast and Exeter three times a day and Inverness twice daily, the carrier said today. The new services starting 27 October will attract about 500,000 passengers a year, and routes to skiing regions and other vacation destinations in France and Spain will follow.

Flybe plans to tap clients from London’s City and Canary Wharf financial districts by offering services from an airport quicker to reach than Heathrow. Flybe now serves London’s Gatwick, Stansted and Southend airports, and last month raised £150 million ($252 million) in a share placement.

“We are delighted to re-enter the London market at London’s most convenient airport following a rigorous profitability analysis utilizing our strict route assessment model,” Flybe Chief Executive Officer Saad Hammad said in the statement.

Flybe shares rose as much as 5.2% and were up 4.8% at 141.50 at 9.58 am in London. The stock has more than tripled in 12 months, valuing the carrier at £307 million.

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Culled Routes

“We’ve dealt with all the problem routes we have had,” Hammad said in a telephone interview. “We have culled 30 routes and changed frequency and/or aircraft gauge on another 25 routes, so we have addressed all the underperformance in the network for this summer to make sure we are in a good position going forward.”

Hammad said negotiations continue over which holiday destinations will be served, while the five new aircraft will spend the majority of flying time carrying business travelers. The leisure destinations will be announced within three weeks, he said.

London City is “poised for significant growth,” with 120,000 takeoffs and landings planned by 2023, handling 6 million passengers, Declan Collier, CEO of the airport, said in the statement. The airport served 3.4 million people in 2013. The Flybe agreement with London City is for five years.

Ownership Change

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Located 6 miles from London’s main financial district, the airport opened in 1987 and was acquired by American International Group Inc. and Global Infrastructure Partners in 2006. The insurer exited in 2008, leaving GIP as the majority owner and Highstar Capital with a 25% stake.

Built on a former dockside in the River Thames, City’s 1,199-meter (3,934-foot) runway, together with noise restrictions, means aircraft must be able to make steep descents and takeoffs, limiting planes deployed to regional aircraft including various turboprops, the BAE Systems Plc 146, and Airbus Group NV’s smallest A318 airliner.

Flybe is “totally on plan” for cost cutting and consulting with unions and employees about proposed redundancies, Hammad said. Air France-KLM (AF) Group sale of its CityJet regional arm shows the desire of European flag carriers to exit the regional segment, which provides opportunities for Flybe, he said.

Bloomberg