Why not. Freedom of the markets and weak Pound makes it an attractive deal. Though post acquisition I remain intrigued at the notion there'll be an option to restructure Flybe, pool the fuel hedging in with that of the wider IAG consortium hedging, restructure aircraft leasing using investment vehicles taxed domiciled out of Dublin, using refreshed aircraft leasing arrangements using leasing arrangements domiciled from Dublin, that will free up significant cost overheads which are strangling Flybe. Registered the entire fleet to EI, refinance debt with a new bond, collateral or parental guarantee from IAG, strip out waste and back office, pool it all including IT using existing IT and back office functions of the wider IAG operations. These sort of measures give Flybe a better than fighting chance to prosper and grow and it will secure if not create greater employment opportunities for flight crew and cabin crew, ultimately save jobs, grow and contribute to the national economy. I'm quietly confident, this could end up quite good for Flybe and it's crews.

I'm not convinced some of the companies touted in the media as being potential buyers are the right buyers to deliver and capitalise on a deal. Deep pockets, investment heavy weight is needed in the debt markets to put a bond away, for me IAG is the 100-pound gorilla in this shake down. Just my humble personal opinion.

Do we know that whatever form Brexit takes, UK airlines will be allowed to be owned abroad?

Based on what's happening in other sectors, I would expect the current majority EU ownership requirement to be converted to majority UK ownership, with any subsequent change having to go through parliament.

You will receive communication from Flybe that a company has offered X for shares and the directors have recommend the offer is accepted. You will be provided with a low cost option to sell shares on.

BUT if you decide to hold onto them then once the buyers own 90% of the shares they will just cancel your shares and send you a cheque to the value of the shares you hold................. this will be at OFFER price. They cannot buy them for more or less than the OFFER price made to the other shareholders. This may seem a bit strange BUT this is to prevent a situation where someone with 10% of the shares gets a better price than someone with 10 shares.

Agree and airlines line IAG / Easyjet / Ryanair will effect complulsory purchase of shares if required to ensure shareholding falls below 50% registered in UK.

At the moment to what I have highlighted. If closed down and there is a profitable option then others will emerge to open up routes.

Joy of capitalism is is people invest to make a profit. If nobody invests and it cuts capacity out of the market then prices will likely rise as existng operators seek to generate a better return. As consumers we hate this but working for a company we like this as this generates Profit to invest back into the business and pay a dividend to shareholders.

There is I believe quite a bit of truth in this. IAG worried that they will lose connecting passengers. Somehow I doubt this and would debate any value in it. They will also know how many people are connecting and what the revenue is.

If 150 pax are transferring per week from Flybe service from one airport and using LH services then it make be justifiable to ensure there is connectivity between that and LHR/LCY. If it is 2 a week then wouldn't spend any time on keeping route.

Bearing in mind Severn Tolls are over then this will also impact on whether to fly from CWL or BRS. Not just the cost but the biggeration factor of their being a Toll as well.

Love your optimism but I don't see a good side coming from this. More like a Monarch story. Hopefully your are right.

The Severn Tolls have never really been a barrier to people from Wales flying from Bristol and most people from the Bristol side don't even give CWL a thought when looking for flights from the region .

Heard that one before from people about WTF wants to drive to an airport in Cambridge, for a flight to Europe, from Surrey, when Gatwick is just down the road. Saving £200 for 2 people suddenly converted people very quickly.

The tolls are just an additional cost people factor in, removed then it is no longer at back of people's mind.

Why spend so much on buying old equipment when can buy new and set up own network to suit you. If buy whole of Flybe then responsible for everything including redundancies etc.

Is there any actual solid info to back up the VS/IAG talks coming from any sources. If both walk away what's options are left to BE. Not many I would humbly suggest other than a potential nose dive in share price.

I'd been thinking the same, the STK contracts up soon isn't it? Goodness knows what change of direction there has been in the boardroom at STK in recent times.

I think with the dash/ejet, you could expand the EIR offer to about 20 a/c flying Dublin to more marginal mainland Europe destinations.

​​​​​​The ATR isn't best suited to transatlantic feeder services, there has been many a story about lack of hold capacity.

Some frames could go into help BACF at LCY. With a carving knife to the rest of the bases and routes and with IAGs buying power, then I would think it would be possible to run the op profitably.

We could push the boat further if there has been any fall out with YW since WX merged with them. Having witnessed first hand the absolute diabolical EI/WX service going on at LCY - there are going to be some big falls out. I've never had such a bad experience with any airline.

The bigger question however is why? EIR runs very well at present, unless they are playing very hard knowing it would be one hell of a task to swap it all over. The UK side of it would provide very little feed for BA unless they have plans to open up, say a MAN TA hub? If they get pre-clearance facilities it might be a possible.

I think it is wrong of people to say that because something didn't work in the past wouldn't work in the future. EI commuter/regional is a testament to that. I'd love to see a BA regional.

Flying regularly NCL-EXT/SOU intra UK flights are a godsend. I couldn't imagine doing it regularly via train - nor could I afford to! There is space for a UK regional carrier but one that is well run and perhaps a little less ambitious to take over Europe.

Finally, everyone will be putting their name into the hat at this stage, if only to have a nose about in the financials.

@bigjim99 - I'm curious to learn more about your previous comment:

Are you in a position to explain in more detail, or happy to take it off-line in a pm

I think the opposite. If IAG were interested, I think the real opportunity to increase value would be by rebranding to some variation of BA, as that is IAG's 'premium' brand in the UK, and Flybe is very much UK focused. BA seem to have been successful in positioning themselves brand wise above the low cost carriers and although fares are a factor they don't have to compete directly on fares. I think that is exactly what is needed to increase revenue for Flybe, because at the moment as Flybe they too much in the low cost carrier space.

They wouldn't need to need to match other BA brand standards exactly, as there are already some differences anyway between BA and BA Cityflyer. If the branded Flybe something else e.g. BA Express, BA Regional, FlyBA etc there could be further differentiation whilst still capitalising on the BA brand.

Rather than Club Europe being a cost, it would be an opportunity to increase revenue, as really it would be little more than providing a sandwich, and the seating configuration on the Q400's would mean they don't even have to block out any seats.

I'm of similar opinion, a new brand to mark new beginning. Leveraging success of bigger brands to help maximise brand identity.

perhaps rebrand to British European Airways with two letter code BE?