Flybe : BE : BEE

Flybe a décidé de voir grand et loin. La compagnie britannique a annoncé le 20 juillet qu’elle avait conclu un accord avec Embraer portant sur l’acquisition de jusqu’à 140 E175.

Trente-cinq sont en commande ferme, d’une valeur de 1,3 milliard de dollars, soixante-cinq en option (2,3 milliards de dollars) et quarante sont des droits d’achat (1,4 milliard de dollars).

Les appareils seront aménagés en configuration monoclasse de 88 places.

La première livraison devrait avoir lieu en septembre 2011 et le dernier appareil de la partie ferme de l’accord devrait intégrer la flotte en mars 2017.

Flybe a donc planifié une ambitieuse expansion pour les prochaines années.

La compagnie régionale a expliqué qu’elle avait décidé d’exporter son modèle économique en Europe continentale (occidentale).
Celui-ci, appliqué au Royaume-Uni depuis sa création en 2002, consiste à croître sans trêve jusqu’à devenir la première compagnie domestique.

Le choix de l’E175 va permettre à Flybe de poursuivre sa stratégie de flotte, basée sur la présence de seulement deux types d’appareils très économiques.

L’E-Jet est en effet parfaitement similaire aux E195 qu’elle exploite déjà (et dont elle était cliente de lancement).

Elle a précisé qu’elle conserverait donc ses Q400 de Bombardier.

Grâce à l’E175, elle pourra également conserver sa configuration de cabine 2x2 avec un pitch minimum de 30 pouces, plus confortable que ses concurrentes low-cost.
Elle est enfin assurée d’avoir les appareils les plus modernes durant les dix prochaines années.

Flybe Issues Advice On Future Embraer Aircraft

As Embraer mulls its airliner product strategy, one of its big customers, Flybe, recommends that the aircraft maker not overdo it. “We don’t want to see an ultra-long-range, ultra-heavy [aircraft],” says Andrew Strong, managing director of Flybe U.K. “We want 600-700 nm” in range.

“We will be emphasizing with Embraer to look at the weight of the aircraft.” Strong also says engine providers should be looking at more innovative concepts for their propulsion systems. A new aircraft “doesn’t have to be the fastest jet in the world, it has to be economic,” Strong stresses.

Embraer, about year-end, expects to decide whether it will augment its regional jet offering, update the current standard or simply do nothing for now as it waits for technologies that could launch a new generation of aircraft to mature.

But Flybe has experienced first hand that manufacturers’ plans do not always work out the way an airline wants. Strong notes that his airline would have been a natural launch customer for Bombardier’s Q400X; however, the Canadian manufacturer has not solidified its plans, so that option was not available. The airline ended up buying Embraer 175 regional jets instead.

Strong also says the CSeries is an example of too much aircraft for an airline like Flybe. While it may be suitable for Middle East routes to London, its range is too long for European routes.

Lufthansa is set to enter exclusive talks to sell loss-making carrier bmi by the end of the month, with arch rival IAG, the owner of British Airways and Iberia, seen as the front-runner, sources said on Tuesday.

"The price won't be substantial, it's mainly about cleaning Lufthansa's balance sheet and getting rid of the debt," one source close to the sales process said.

Bmi has been a millstone around Lufthansa's neck and by putting it up for sale, the company has admitted efforts have stalled to turn around the unit, which reported losses of EUR€154 million (USD$214.8 million) for the first nine months of 2011.

Lufthansa finance chief Stephan Gemkow said at the group's third-quarter results last week talks were going on with several interested parties and that a binding deal could be reached this year.

The source added there were a handful of bidders, including IAG and Virgin Atlantic.

While Lufthansa is seeking to sell bmi as a whole, another source close to the deal said the most likely outcome would be Lufthansa selling bmi's coveted slots at Heathrow, Europe's largest airport, to IAG.

IAG would then pass on some of those slots to Virgin to relieve competition concerns.

"Lufthansa will likely sell bmi's slots for about GBP£300 million max and its stake in (air traffic manager) NATS and fetch about GBP£400 million in total, so just enough to recover from the losses accumulated since the bmi acquisition," the person said.

With the Heathrow slots sold, smaller players such as Flybe or Eastern could then look to pick up bmi regional.

While some have queried whether Lufthansa would sell bmi to arch rival British Airways, thus strengthening the latter's position at London's Heathrow, one of the sources close to the deal said Lufthansa's desire to be rid of bmi would come first.

"Lufthansa is losing patience and could finally surrender to selling to IAG. They really tried hard to avoid giving them such a strong presence at Heathrow."

One airline industry specialist, who did not want to be named, said Lufthansa would also be keen to avoid bmi falling into the clutches of Gulf airline Etihad, which sources say is teaming up with Virgin for a bid.

"Lufthansa is doing everything in its power to keep the fast growing Gulf airlines at bay - why should they allow a main competitor to gain a foothold on Europe's busiest airport in Heathrow," he said.

(Reuters)