Flybe signs alliance with Eastern Airways

Budget airline Flybe has signed an agreement establishing a new alliance with Eastern Airways.

The heads of terms includes a five-year franchise agreement in which Eastern will operate its scheduled route network under the Flybe brand and a joint venture and risk sharing agreement, covering four Eastern aircraft, to fly existing Flybe branded routes from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester.

The four aircraft will be operated under the Flybe franchise and significantly improve connectivity for Scotland.

The contracts are expected to be finalised and signed in the next few weeks, but tickets will go on sale immediately and flights will start operating under the new arrangements from September.

Flybe's chief executive officer Christine Ourmieres-Widener said: "This alliance with Eastern Airways is an excellent opportunity to strengthen the Flybe network. We already operate flights at a number of common airports and this will enable passengers to connect to a greater number of destinations, across the UK and into Europe, all booked through Flybe.com."

Eastern is a UK-based regional airline, whose head office is at Humberside Airport and which operates scheduled domestic and short-haul international services and private charter services, with hubs at Aberdeen, Norwich, Teesside, Newcastle, Southampton, Leeds, Cardiff and Paris.

At 0810 BST, Flybe shares were up 2.4% to 34.82p.