Under a new agreement with Scandinavian airline SAS, Flybe will operate four ATR72-600 aircraft on behalf of SAS from next October for a six year period. The deal can be extended by up to four more aircraft in the future.
The aircraft, which will operate under Flybe’s Airline Operating Certificate (AOC), will be used on short-haul services in Europe and are being provided with full flight and cabin crew as well as maintenance.
SAS carries around 30 million passengers per year to destinations in Europe, USA and Asia.
Saad Hammad, Exeter-based Flybe’s chief executive officer, said: “We are delighted to announce this agreement with SAS which provides a turn-key regional capacity solution.
“This white label agreement with Scandinavia’s largest carrier confirms Flybe’s twin-engine growth strategy and we are excited about its long-term potential. We look forward to starting operations in Scandinavia next year.”
Flemming Jensen, SAS chief operating officer, said: “It’s always a great pleasure to take in brand new aircraft in our traffic. We already have very good experiences with the ATR turbo-prop, and our customers can look forward to high quality and a pleasant and joyful journey with Flybe for SAS.”
“This agreement means that SAS’s production can become even more effective and we also streamline our fleet with respect to the type of aircraft external carriers fly for us.”