Q400 options could be used for expansion on to continent as UK becomes increasingly slot-constrained
Flybe is considering a foray into continental Europe using the Bombardier Q400 options it placed last week as part of a major new order for the type. The rapidly expanding UK carrier has also revealed that it is evaluating the Q400X stretch variant of the 78-seat turboprop.
Last week Flybe placed a firm order for 15 Bombardier Q400s, plus 15 options, for delivery over the next two years. This order builds on the airline's existing Q400 commitments, taking it to a total of 60 of the type.
The aircraft on firm order are to replace some Embraer ERJ-145s that Flybe acquired with its purchase of BA Connect. Flybe chief commercial officer Mike Rutter says that the 15 additional options may be used to "press ahead with the airline's sub-strategy of overseas expansion", with the launch of operations in markets such as France, Scandinavia and Spain.
Before the BA Connect acquisition, Flybe was considering opening up to five bases in either France or Spain. In the chosen market, it was planning to station up to 20 aircraft for deployment on mainly domestic routes.
"I think that we wouldn't be seeking to stay with one [country]," says Rutter. "Our plan would be to initially do one, but then to add one per year after that. If you look at what EasyJet and Ryanair have done, it's no more aggressive than that."
Another option for the carrier is further expansion in the UK market, although Rutter says that such a move would require a "structural change" such as the freeing of a carrier's slot portfolio.
Rutter says that Flybe will take a decision on the offshoot operations around 2009-10, firming the options around the same time. "At the end of this we will have a fleet which will be in the region of 71 or 72 Q400s and 16-20 Embraer 195s," he says.
Meanwhile, Rutter says the airline has had talks with Bombardier about the Q400X, adding that "the concept of a 90-seat version of the Q400 is appealing".
Flybe is aiming to phase out its Bombardier Q300s, BAe 146s and ERJ-145s, leaving it with an E-195 and Q400 fleet by the second quarter of 2009.
Source: Flight International
