17/18 results have a predicted loss of 10-15 million?
No idea why Flybe can't make a profit. I think it is a bit of everything. Expensive leases (the E-195's are loss making and have a crap lease), probably too much inefficient staff, Regional is a tough market to make money as well I think. You can make a profit, but margins are small, smaller than for a RYR or EZY. The extra use in fuel is probably easier compensated with a fuller bigger aircraft.
If you then have on the other side loss making routes, expensive jets, poor marketing to get the flights full, a headquarter in Exeter for which you will never get the best staff since they tend to go for jobs in the bigger cities where they can make a better career, an office with lots of young people without the operational experience, an expensive training academy which was meant to be hired out to locals but which is often empty, senior management that comes and goes, lots of pilots leaving so your most expensive pilots (TRI/TRE's ) are not productive (as in flying), because they spent whole months in the sim in EXT for training and there are probably a few more reasons to name!
An example which I found shocking was that a senior manager not long ago said they saw a high rise in requests for flights during the Rugby in Wales (we did some charters) and that they were now looking if they could do this more often, because Flybe was never really bothering to look into these sport events. They probably do lots of great things in the office, but really? Saying these kind of things make me really question the business minds of the senior management!
Rant over! :-) Besides all this Flybe is pretty great to work for. Great people, but unfortunately great people are not a guarantee for profit ;-). And Stobart? hmm its been a bit too quiet I think + Flybe keeps postponing the fleet update + Flybe is already cooperating with Stobart = a bid will probably happen is my gutfeeling. We will see!