Article from BTNews 25 FEBRUARY 2019
Flybe vows business as usual
An “exciting future for customers and employees” was promised by Flybe on Friday after the Exeter-based regional carrier was bought by the Connect Airways consortium. Flybe also announced a daily Heathrow – Guernsey service starting next month.
The Connect group, consisting of Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Air and Cyrus Capital (BTN 11 February) paid £2.8m for Flybe, worth 1p per share. Cyrus Capital owns 40% of the airline, with Virgin and Stobart each acquiring 30%. To support on-going operations, Connect is also lending Flybe £20m and investing a further £80m.
Flybe tweeted about the takeover on Friday night: “Today's confirmation of the sale of Flybe to Connect Airways secures an exciting future for our customers and employees as we continue to provide vital regional connectivity in the UK and beyond.”
CEO Christine Ourmières-Widener said that by combining to form a larger, stronger, group, the new Flybe would be better placed to withstand market pressures. “We aim to provide an even better service to our customers and secure the future for our people," she added.
The airline also sent a “business as usual” message by announcing it will launch a daily Bombardier Q400 service between Guernsey and Heathrow on 31 March. It will be the first direct connection between the island and Heathrow in 20 years. Newquay also starts on the same day.
www.flybe.com www.virginatlantic.com
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