Regional carrier Flybe has confirmed that the formal sale of its operating assets to the Connect Airways consortium has been completed, just days after it announced a new route between Heathrow and Guernsey.
The sale means Flybe as a company is now a non-trading entity with no subsidiaries or material assets other than the cash received from the sale, with Connect Airways set to continue operating Flybe flights as normal for the time being.
Connect Airways is a consortium made up of Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Group and Cyrus Capital. Its offer of £2.2 million has been criticised by Flybe’s largest shareholder, Hosking Partners, but the regional carrier has said throughout the sale process that the bid was the only viable option to keep it operating.
The remaining offer of 1p per share of the company still has to be approved by shareholders, who have been warned by Flybe that they will walk away with nothing if they don’t vote in favour of the buy-out at a meeting on 4 March because of the asset sale.
Meanwhile, Flybe has announced it will launch a new route from Heathrow to Guernsey on 31 March. Flights are due to operate once a day, departing the Channel island at 1440 and arriving in London at 1545, with the return service leaving at 1720 and landing at 1825.
Flights will be operated by a 78-seat Bombardier Q400 aircraft.
In addition, Flybe has added a sixth daily service between Heathrow and Edinburgh that departs London at 0640 and lands at 0825 from 23 April. A new evening flight begins on 22 April and leaves Scotland at 1735, arriving at 1915.
flybe.com