Flybe Acquisition Completed
By Robert Silk, Travel Weekly (U.S.) | Feb. 25, 2019
Connect Airways, a consortium that includes Virgin Atlantic, has completed its acquisition of U.K. regional carrier Flybe.
"Flybe flights continue to operate as normal," the airline said in a statement Friday.
Connect Airways is comprised of Virgin Atlantic, Cyrus Capital and Stobart Aviation.
The Flybe brand will eventually go away, with operations adopting the Virgin Atlantic brand. Virgin Altantic plans to connect its long-haul network of mostly transatlantic flights to Flybe's extensive European regional network.
Flybe says that it flies to 81 airports in the U.K. and Europe. Its fortunes plummeted last year amid high fuel prices, currency fluctuations and operational uncertainties caused by the U.K.'s planned departure from the European Union.
Connect Airways entered into the acquisition agreement with Flybe in January.