Flying low: Muted demand keeps Flybe revenues flat

Airline Flybe yesterday confirmed that muted demand left revenues at its UK business broadly flat in the final quarter of last year, following a warning last month.

Sales in the UK in the three months to the end of December fell 0.3 per cent to £133.7 million, compared with a year ago.

Scots-born chairman and chief executive Jim French said the UK arm was focusing on initiatives to increase revenue per seat, further reduce costs and ensure capacity was closely matched to demand.

Last month, Flybe reduced capacity by 6 per cent on a year earlier and saw passenger revenues per seat improve by 3 per cent as a result.

French said: “Although we expect market conditions to remain challenging, we have a robust and flexible business model and clear and achievable growth plans. We remain confident about Flybe’s long-term future.”

DOMINIC JEFF