Well, as far as I can tell, the only thing of any value that Flybe gets out of this deal, is the aircrew.
Brainfade,
The main thing Flybe gets is customers. Instead of competing with BA Connect on similar routes, they will soon have a captive market and they can then increase their fares. This results in an increase in both passenger numbers and yields, which in itself results in bigger profits.
This is a business opportunity for Flybe, it's not simply a case of the directors buying their Flight Operations department 400 experienced pilots and some discounted aircraft leases.
Seniority will be a big issue. My concern for the BA Connect pilots is that this is a take-over. When CityFlyer was taken-over by BA, a number of CityFlyer pilots wanted a merged seniority list with BA. However, following legal advice they were told that BA did not have to do this as it wasn't a merger it was a take-over.
Good luck to everyone in BACon and Flybe.