Flybe Finland

Flybe Finland
IATA
BE		 ICAO
FCM		 Callsign
FINNCOMM
Founded 2011
Hubs
  • Helsinki-Vantaa Airport
Frequent-flyer program
  • Finnair Plus
Fleet size 26
Destinations 35
Parent company Finnair Oyj (40%)
StaffPoint Holding (45%)
G.W. Sohlberg (15%)
Headquarters Seinäjoki Airport
Ilmajoki, Finland
Website fi.flybe.com

Flybe Finland Oy is a Finnish airline majority owned by Finnair. The airline began operations on 20 October 2011 as a joint venture between Flybe and Finnair, following their acquisition of Finncomm Airlines. Flybe sold its 60% stake in the airline to StaffPoint Holding and G.W. Sohlberg in February 2015. The airline is due to operate under Finnair's flight code from 1 May 2015.

History

The creation of the airline was announced on 1 July 2011, when Flybe and Finnair revealed plans to jointly purchase Finnish Commuter Airlines (FCA) and rebrand the airline Flybe Nordic, with Flybe and Finnair each holding a stake in the new entity.[1] Under the terms of the agreement, contingent on approval by regulatory authorities, the purchase price of FCA was €25 million, of which Flybe would pay €12 million and Finnair €13 million.[2] Flybe has a majority stake in Flybe Nordic, holding a 60% stake in the airline, with Finnair holding the remaining 40%; Flybe has three seats on the airline's board of directors with Finnair having the other two.[2] Flybe planned to invest a total of €23.6 million into the new airline, including expenses such as loan repayments in addition to the purchase price of FCA.[3]

At the time of the announcement of Flybe Nordic's creation, Flybe planned to begin operating the new airline on 1 August 2011, with the FCA name being phased out,[1] though the start date was later pushed back to 30 October.[4] A new route network was also planned to be announced in mid-August.[2]

Flybe announced in November 2014 that it would sell its 60% stake in the airline for €1, in an attempt to reduce group costs.[5] in February 2015, the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority approved the sale of its stake to StaffPoint Holding and G.W. Sohlberg, who took a 45% and 15% stake respectively.[6] The airline will begin flying under Finnair's flight codes from 1 May 2015.[7]

Destinations

ATR-72-500 at Joensuu Airport
ATR 72–500 landing at Vilnius International Airport (Lithuania).
A Flybe Nordic Embraer 170 in Finnair livery at Joensuu Airport in 2011.

On 24 August 2011, Flybe Nordic announced its first 24 routes, including both former Finncomm routes as well as new ones.[8] Since October 2012 Flybe Nordic operates around one third of Finnair's European network for Finnair market (AY). All Flybe Nordic flights have a Flybe (BE) and a Finnair (AY) flight code. The destinations are the following:

 Austria
 Belgium
 Czech Republic
 Denmark
 Estonia
 Finland
 France
 Germany
 Hungary
 Ireland
 Latvia
 Lithuania
 Norway
 Poland
 Russia
 Sweden
  Switzerland
 United Kingdom

Terminated Destinations

 Finland
 Norway
 Sweden

Codeshare agreements

As of November 2014, Flybe Nordic has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

Fleet

Flybe Nordic operates with 12 ATR 72s mainly previously operated by FCA, as well 2 Embraer 170s and 12 Embraer 190. The ATR 72 are owned by Finnair, which bought them from FCA at a cost of €104 million, and leased to Flybe Nordic, as the Embraer 170s, previously owned by Finnair.[1]

Some of the ATR aircraft are painted in Flybe livery, with web titles on the aft right side of the fuselage for the Estonian URL and on the left side the Finnish URL. Embraer E-170 and Embraer E-190 are operated in Finnair livery for AY's European operation.

Flybe Nordic's fleet includes the following aircraft (as of June 2014):[15] [16]

Flybe Nordic Fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Orders Passengers Notes
ATR 72-500 12 3 68–72
Embraer E170 2 0 76 Operated for Finnair; in Finnair livery. All aircraft are to be sold by early August. 1 to BA CityFlyer and 1 to Republic Airlines.
Embraer E190 12 3 100 Operated for Finnair; in Finnair livery
Total 26 6

More than 20 of the aircraft are flying on a white label contract for Finnair. Up to 5 of the ATR aircraft are on scheduled flying operations under the Flybe brand.

Flybe Nordic's ATR aircraft are maintained by Flybe Finland Maintenance at Helsinki Airport. The fleet of Embraer aircraft is maintained by Flybe Aviation Services in the United Kingdom.

Flybe Nordic Historic Fleet
Aircraft Introduced Retired Notes
ATR 42-500 2011 2014

Services

Flybe Finland Ground

In April 2013 it was announced that Flybe Finland Ground will be established to provide ground services to Flybe operations in Finland. This business will initially focus on the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport where it will develop services to support Flybe’s own operations. In the future Flybe Finland Ground will also offer ground services to other airlines in Finland and overseas.[17]

Flybe Finland Maintenance

Formerly Finnish Aircraft Maintenance operates as Flybe Finland Maintenance since April 2013. It provides maintenance services for regional aircraft, in particular ATR (aircraft manufacturer) at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "New Nordic carrier to emerge from Flybe-Finnair tie-up". Flightglobal.com. 1 July 2011. Archived from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Flybe, Finnair To Acquire A Nordic Airline". Aviation Week. 1 July 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  3. ↑ "UPDATE 2-Finnair, Flybe to buy Finnish regional carrier". Reuters UK. 1 July 2011. Archived from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  4. ↑ "Flybe Nordic Starts Operating 30 October". Scandasia.com. 25 August 2011. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  5. ↑ Lewin, Joel (12 November 2014). "Flybe agrees to sell Finnish division for €1". Financial Times. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "Finnish regulator okays Flybe. Nordic's sell off". Ch-aviation. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Flybe Finland to fly under the Finnair code starting on May 1". World Airline News. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  8. ↑ "Flybe Nordic routes announced". Business Traveler. 24 August 2011. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  9. ↑ L, J (19 March 2015). "Finnair Adds Helsinki – Tartu Route from late-June 2015". Airline Route. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  10. ↑ http://www.flybe.com/franchises-codeshares/codeshares/codeshares.htm
  11. ↑ http://www.flybe.com/franchises-codeshares/codeshares/codeshares.htm
  12. ↑ http://www.flybe.com/franchises-codeshares/codeshares/codeshares.htm
  13. ↑ http://www.flybe.com/franchises-codeshares/codeshares/codeshares.htm
  14. ↑ http://www.flybe.com/franchises-codeshares/codeshares/codeshares.htm
  15. ↑ "Flybe Annual Report 2014" (PDF). Flybe Group plc. 11 June 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  16. ↑ "Flybe Finland gave up the ATR42-machines (in Finnish)". Lentoposti. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  17. ↑ "Fast-growing Flybe Finland establishes new business unit". Invest in EU. 5 April 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Flybe Nordic.