flybe. (Birmingham, GB) has appointed Dave Pflieger as its new chief executive, to “lead our new airline as it gets ready to start operations and serve key regions in the UK and EU,” Kevin Hatton, chairman of the board at the start-up and flybe. (2002) (Exeter) successor, said on October 26.
Pflieger has already been a senior executive or CEO at seven airlines, such as Delta Air Lines, Virgin America, and Silver Airways, most recently as chief executive of regional specialist Ravn Alaska. He also “led the turnaround, re-fleeting, and re-branding of Fiji Airways,” the company said in its statement announcing the appointment.
The development follows the sale in April of the business and assets while in administration of Flybe Group Limited - now essentially a shell company renamed as FBE Realisations Ltd - to Cyrus Capital-controlled vehicle Thyme Opco, now renamed Flybe Limited.
The new Cyrus-backed flybe. missed out on its target to launch operations this summer as the British government confirmed an earlier decision of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) revoking the old flybe.’s operating licence (OL) and preventing its successor from gaining access to its lucrative legacy London Heathrow slots. Those slots have been handed temporarily to British Airways.
However, Pflieger said his team would soon “launch a new, better, and stronger company that will build on a respected and well-known brand, create valuable industry jobs” and again “connect regions and communities across the UK.”
FBE Realisations, meanwhile, may attempt to claim money from the new flybe., depending on its future performance, according to an insolvency update from its administrator EY-Parthenon filed at UK registrar Companies House earlier this month.
The old flybe. had accepted nominal payment of GBP1 pound (USD1.38) on completion of the deal while its successor agreed to take on some of the remaining employees and certain supplier contracts, joint administrator Simon Edel summarised in the update.
However, “there is still a prospect of certain contingent deferred consideration being available to the company (and therefore for its creditors) in due course,” which was one of the reasons EY requested the High Court of Justice for an extension of the administration to March 2024, Edel explained. The conditions surrounding such a potential consideration remain confidential but “are linked to the future performance of the new Flybe business being run by the purchaser.”
EY-Parthenon has continued to receive claims from FBE Realisations’ creditors, and “in light of these claims, we now consider that the total non-preferential unsecured claims will be between GBP550 million and GBP650 million (USD759-897 million),” a figure that could grow still further once all claims have been received and an adjudication process is complete.
Not included in the deal were 11 engines (nine PW150 and two CF-34) and the Flybe Training Academy, which was sold to Devon County Council for GBP3.625 million (USD5 million). Slots at various airports were part of the transaction, however, and the administrator is now looking at whether it can obtain any payment for them. This was not done at the time because the slots had to be transferred as part of the overall business and because “there were no other willing third parties interested in acquiring the business and its assets.”
