FlyBe looks to expand routes

Flybe Group, 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 travellers.

Flybe will deploy five Bombardier Q400 planes to serve Edinburgh and Dublin four times daily, Belfast and Exeter three times a day and Inverness twice daily, the carrier said yesterday. The new services starting October 27 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 £150m (€182m) in a share placement.

“We are delighted to re-enter the London market at London’s most convenient airport following a rigorous profitability analysis utilising our strict route assessment model,” Flybe chief executive Saad Hammad said.

Flybe shares have more than tripled in 12 months, valuing the carrier at £307m.

“We’ve dealt with all the problem routes we have had,” Hammad added.