Flybe sells Gatwick slots to easyJet
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Flybe has confirmed it has sold its Gatwick slots to easyJet.
The carrier has sold its entire 25 slots for GBP20 million to easyJet, with Flybe to continue its services on routes from the airport up to 29 March 2014.
Its network from other UK airports are unaffected. easyJet now owns 40% of Gatwick’s slots and has previously named the airport as a priority for its growth plans.
It said the 25 slot pairings will be used to boost frequencies on existing popular routes and for new destinations in the UK and Europe.
Flybe decided to sell the slots as part of a strategy to return the airline to profits. It also said its charges had doubled at Gatwick in the last five years and against a “poor route performance” had been unsustainable to maintain.
Selling the slots will lift the majority of the GBP25 million cost savings it hoped to put into place by March 2014, with two of its four aircraft already been sold and a renewed focus on regional markets. This will see more of a focus on Southampton Airport for short-haul business and leisure routes and other smaller airports that it feels are underserved.
Flybe UK is expected to break-even in profits per seat this year, grow GBP600,000 in 2014/15 and to GBP5m in three to five years.
