The Flybe name is set to disappear from airports in 2020 as new owners, Connect Airways Ltd, rebrand the airline as Virgin Connect.
As we reported earlier this year, the new owners had always planned to rebrand the regional airline after rescuing it from near collapse and the new name reflects its ownership which is a consortium of Virgin Atlantic and The Stobart Group.
Connect Airways CEO, Mark Anderson said: “We are hugely excited by this milestone in our airline’s 40-year history. We will remain true to our heritage and reason for being, which is offering essential regional connectivity to local communities.
“At its heart, Virgin Connect will be passionately focused on becoming Europe’s most loved and successful regional airline. It will offer travel that is simple and convenient with the personal touch. Our customers will naturally expect the same exceptional travel experience as they do with other Virgin-related brands. Whatever their reason for flying, we want our customers to feel loved and know we will always put their needs first in every decision we take.
“As part of the Virgin family, we now have a tremendously re-energised team. From here on in, we invite our customers, partners and the communities we serve to join us on every step of this exciting journey!”
The rebrand will see the end of the purple liveried Bombardier Dash 8’s that currently grace regional airports such as Cardiff and Birmingham and they will be replaced by a red liveried Virgin Connect brand.
Virgin Connect will also offer what it describes as “enhanced customer service” offering.
The airline stresses that despite the nae changes, all bookings made through Flybe will be unaffected by the change.
The airline has not confirmed the exact date of the change yet.
