Air France (AF, Paris CDG) and Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International) are reportedly in talks with the administrators of recently collapsed flybe. (Birmingham, GB) to acquire the airline as it is impossible to buy only the airline's slots without other assets and liabilities, the Telegraph has reported.
The regional carrier owned seven pairs of slots at London Heathrow and five at Amsterdam Schiphol. Those at the former, previously owned by British Airways, were awarded to flybe. (2002) in 2012 as a remedial measure during the flag carrier's acquisition of bmi british midland. Because of this, they are not subject to normal slot trading rules and cannot be separately bought from the flybe. estate.
"The administrators remain in active discussions with credible parties. Additionally, there are a range of important stakeholders who remain supportive of the process," a spokesperson for the administrators said.
The administrators have not publicly disclosed flybe.'s assets and liabilities. The ch-aviation fleets ownership module shows that the regional carrier did not own any of its aircraft - instead, it leased eight DHC-8-Q400s from Nordic Aviation Capital and one from Aergo Capital.
Sources told the newspaper that the sale would have to be concluded within the next few days, otherwise flybe. will be liquidated. In said case, the airline's slots would be returned to the pool to be reallocated by the respective airport coordinators.
The report by the ACL-UK shows that flybe. leased 43 weekly slot pairs at Heathrow during the Winter 2022/23 season. Lufthansa, with 124 weekly slot pairs, is already the largest non-British slot holder at the hub (trailing British Airways and Virgin Atlantic), while Air France holds a relatively meagre 42 weekly slot pairs. Airport Coordination Netherlands does not publicly disclose Schiphol's slot holdings.
