Failed Flybe set for new takeoff (archive.org)
From the Telegraph the other day:
Flybe is close to taking off once again after regulators granted the airline permission to return to the skies.
The Civil Aviation Authority has granted a new company founded by Cyrus Capital’s Lucien Farrell an operating licence.
Mr Farrell’s Mayfair fund bought Flybe’s brand and other assets from administrators EY last October amid plans to “restore essential regional connectivity in the UK”.
Cyrus was a shareholder in Flybe alongside Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic when what had been Europe’s biggest regional airline collapsed in March 2020.
Jon Peachey, who previously led Sir Richard’s US operations, is a director of the new company that recently changed its name from Thyme OpCo to Flybe Limited.
He is working alongside Kevin Hatton, the former British Airways sales executive who was named in the “dirty tricks” litigation with Virgin Atlantic 30 years ago.
Granting an operating licence removes a key hurdle in Mr Farrell’s dream of returning the airline to service.
Making his dream a reality now hinges on whether the CAA will reverse its decision to revoke the operating licence of the Flybe company that is in administration. This business retains the rights to take-off and landing slots at Heathrow airport that could be worth tens of millions of pounds.
Despite intensive lobbying from Mr Farrell, EY and law firm Freshfields, the regulator stripped the company that is in administration of its operating licence in late February.
An appeal about that decision has been lodged with Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary. Until a final decision is made, the slots remain in the hands of administrators.
If the slots are still in their control by June 3, they could be transferred to Mr Farrell’s new company.
Industry sources have long suspected that Mr Farrell’s motive for relaunching Flybe was to sell the slots, rather than run what has been historically a loss-making airline.
A CAA spokesman said: “The UK Civil Aviation Authority can confirm that Flybe (formally known as Thyme OpCo Limited) has been granted an operating licence. This licence allows Flybe to undertake commercial air transport and was granted subject to the company meeting the qualifying legislative criteria and requirements of a new applicant.”
A spokesman for EY said: "An appeal has been lodged against the Civil Aviation Authority’s decision to revoke the operating licence held by FBE Realisations 2021 Limited (in Administration). Currently, and during any appeal process, the operating licence continues to remain valid."
Cyrus Capital declined to comment.