Flybe sold to the Connect Airways consortium

The fate of the beleaguered airline Flybe has now been decided, following the sale to Connect Airways. The Connect Airways consortium comprises Virgin Atlantic, Cyrus Capital and the Stobart Group.

Flybe was put up for sale in November 2018, and the sale was agreed on 4th March 2019. Without the buy out, Flybe would have folded. Connect Airways plan to operate Flybe independently, but it is believed they intend to rebrand the airline as Virgin Atlantic.

The airline will continue to face the economic challenges of operating a regional fleet in the UK. However, the consortium have committed up to £80 million of further funding in order to use the airline to improve Virgin Atlantic's long-haul network connectivity, with particular focus on Manchester and Heathrow airports.