The second collapse of regional UK airline Flybe was unsurprising as it was "struggling" since before the coronavirus pandemic and the industry-crippling travel curbs that ensued, according to aviation analysts at IBA.
Further "consolidation" in the the industry is likely, IBA warned, with recent quarterly results showing "strong" low-cost carriers such as Ryanair likely to further squeeze regional operators and "weak" rivals as travel revives to pre-Covid number.
Flybe's plight - it could only attain a 10% seat share on routes it operated - was made worse by what IBA said was a "ridiculous" double taxation on domestic UK flights.
While it seems unlikely Flybe could be resuscitated a third time, the industry is known for its investment dice rolls. "An investor could buy the business and try again, but is anyone crazy enough to try this? Well, this is the airline industry so, we wouldn’t totally rule it out," IBA said.