FLYBE HAS revealed details of a new fleet modernisation plan that will make it the world’s largest Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 operator.
The cornerstone is an agreement with Embraer under which the Exeter-based carrier will cancel 20 E175s from an outstanding backlog of 24 (and deferral of the remaining four until 2018), while a separate deal between the Brazilian manufacturer and Republic Airways Holdings will see the US operator acquire 50 E-Jets, thought to include those cancelled by Flybe. The UK carrier has also reached an agreement to sub-lease 24 Q400s from Republic Airways, with deliveries starting in March 2015. According to Flybe, most of the new Bombardier turboprops will be a like-for-like replacement for its own examples due to return to their respective lessors over the next four years.
The financially troubled carrier has been trying for several years to resolve its fleet requirements after signing a $1.3 billion deal with Embraer for 35 E175s in July 2010.