Flybe expected to announce loss of £23 million for the year and more job losses

Regional airline Flybe is expected to announce annual losses for the year to March will be bigger than feared at around £23 million when it reports annual figures on Friday after a turbulent year.  Fly be says it has been squeezed by higher fuel costs and the tough economy. It has been taking tough action reverse the losses, recently quitting Gatwick Airport by selling its 25 pairs of landing slots there to easyJet for £20 million, while also slashing jobs and cutting its pilots’ pay by 5%.  Flybe currently has about half a million domestic passengers per year at Gatwick. The airline also revealed another 80 redundancies, on top of almost 600 staff – or 22% of its workforce – who have been axed so far as part of plans to save at least £35 million a year.  In January Fl ybe reported a loss of £1.3m in the six months to 30 September. That compared with a profit of £14.3m a year earlier.

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Flybe losses ‘bigger than feared’

Regional airline Flybe is expected to dive deeper into the red when it reports annual figures on Friday after a turbulent year.

16.6.2013  (Express and Star)

N0209951371208000743A
Flybe is expected to report annual losses of around 23 million pounds for the year to March
 
 
The Exeter-based carrier recently warned annual losses for the year to March will be bigger than feared at around £23 million as it is squeezed by higher fuel costs and the tough economy. It has been taking tough action to pull the business out of its tailspin, most recently quitting Gatwick Airport by selling its runway space there to budget rival easyJet for £20 million, while also slashing jobs and cutting its pilots’ pay by 5%.
 

Flybe is selling 25 pairs of take-off and landing slots to raise vital funds in a move that will see it will cease all flights from Gatwick, where it currently flies more than half a million passengers to destinations around the UK.

The airline also revealed another 80 redundancies, on top of almost 600 staff – or 22% of its workforce – who have been axed so far as part of plans to save at least £35 million a year.

Analysts at HSBC said the recent restructuring measures were “broadly sensible”. But they added: “The company will need to show investors it is able to turn the plans into reality.”

http://www.expressandstar.com/business/city-news/2013/06/16/flybe-losses-bigger-than-feared/

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Earlier:

Flybe jobs could go at Southampton

Flybe Credit: PA

Flybe to end all domestic flights from Gatwick by March 2014 after selling its 25 slot pairs to easyJet

23.5.2013  

Flybe is to stop all of its Gatwick flights after agreeing to sell all its 25 pairs of slots to EasyJet for £20 million, as it needs the money. That only leaves Flybe with a few London slots, at Luton. Flybe will leave Gatwick the end of March 2014. That means the end of its flights from Gatwick to Belfast City, Guernsey, Inverness, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Newcastle and Newquay. EasyJet is under no obligation to replace domestic flights, and will just use the slots for the most profitable holiday routes. There are concerns in Inverness about losing their Gatwick link.  Flybe launched an expensive complaint to the CAA in 2010, complaining about the level of its charges. However the CAA ruled in September that Gatwick was within its rights to raise its landing fees for smaller aircraft, as it prefers to use slots for larger planes carrying more passengers. Flybe has been hit because on domestic flights, APD of £13 is charged on both legs of a journey. Flybe’s Chairman, Jim French said that even if Gatwick did not want its passengers, other airports would, and Flybe would work to ensure that the “UK’s regional passengers don’t get left in the cold.”

https://www.airportwatch.org.uk/?p=3420

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Flybe in talks to sell its 25 Gatwick landing slots for up to £20 million

Date added: May 14, 2013

Flybe is in talks about selling its 25 Gatwick landing slots to raise money, as it is expected to announce a large financial loss – about £14 million – for last year. The slots could raise up to £20 million. Easyjet is one of the companies Flybe is believed to be in discussions with to sell to. Flybe was floated on the stock market at the end of 2010. Since then it has faced soaring fuel costs, falling passenger numbers and higher airport duty. It is currently axing about 10% of its 3,000-strong UK workforce to cut costs by at least £35m. It is also reviewing its network of 13 UK bases of Aberdeen, Belfast City, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Guernsey, Glasgow, Inverness, Isle of Man, Jersey, Manchester, Newcastle and Southampton. Last week, BALPA confirmed Flybe’s pilots had agreed to a 5% pay cut to avoid compulsory redundancies. If Flybe sells all its Gatwick slots, that only leaves it a few London slots, at Luton.

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23 January 2013 (BBC)

Flybe plans 300 job cuts in revamp programme

FlyBe aircraft
The airline is reorganising itself into two divisions
 

Regional airline Flybe has said it is planning to cut about 300 jobs as part of a programme to return the carrier to profitability in 2013-14.

The Exeter-based airline said the cuts would lower UK staff numbers by 10%, reducing costs by £35m.

Flybe said it did not expect “significant” changes to the number of its UK bases or routes, but said it would be reviewing its network.

The airline reported a loss of £1.3m in the six months to 30 September.

That compared with a profit of £14.3m a year earlier. The airline has blamed its poor results on rising fuel costs and falling demand because of increases in air passenger duty.

‘Disappointed’

Under the turnaround plan, the company said it would reorganise itself into two divisions.

Flybe UK will cover all UK-based scheduled flight services, while Flybe Outsourcing Solutions will cover all outsourced services such as contract flying and training.

The job losses will be seen in the Flybe UK business, with 20% of management posts going and 10% of support and production roles being cut.

The airline said consultation with affected staff and their trade unions would start immediately.

The Prospect union, which represents some Flybe engineers, said it did not support the airline’s plans.

“While we acknowledge that the UK’s continuing economic weakness is having a negative impact on business, we have yet to be convinced that the combination of job losses and the outsourcing of line maintenance put forward today provides the answer,” said Prospect negotiator John Stevenson.

As well as job cuts, Flybe said it would be seeking to cut costs with suppliers, start a fuel efficiency programme and introduce more automated check-ins.

“I am extremely disappointed that many valued and hard-working colleagues may have to leave the organisation,” said Flybe chairman and chief executive Jim French.

“We will make every effort to minimise the impact and to offer support wherever possible in the transition.”

In a trading update, Flybe said passenger numbers had risen by 1.7% to 1.8 million in the final three months of last year. However, passenger revenues fell 1.2% to £136.9m and costs also rose.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21157000

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UK’s domestic air travel boom is over, says Flybe

9.11.2011

Flybe has declared an end to the boom in domestic air travel and reports a deepening
drop in demand for British routes. The unreliability of demand has led to 2 profit
warnings this year. Flybe said winter bookings were down 1% compared with last
year, while last month they forecast a 1% increase. UK domestic routes are 70%
of Flybe’s passengers. The CAA says domestic air travel fell 20% over the past
4 years, as an over-supplied market bottomed out.   Flybe
reports continuing drop in domestic demand as travellers switch back to the railways

https://www.airportwatch.org.uk/?p=4685

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