Virgin Atlantic (VS, London Heathrow) plans further acquisitions of regional carriers in the United Kingdom following the take over of flybe. (2002) (Exeter), CEO Shai Weiss told Bloomberg TV.
"I’m talking about the consolidation of smaller operators in the short-haul market under the banner of 'Virgin something' to provide more feed," Weiss said.
The takeover of flybe. by Connect Airways, a consortium of Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Group, and Cyrus Capital Partners, is still awaiting regulatory approval. Outgoing CEO of the regional carrier, Christine Ourmières-Widener, recently told ch-aviation that she expected network and strategy changes not earlier than with the onset of the Summer 2020 season.
Weiss said that Virgin Atlantic planned to use flybe. to expand its short-haul network and feed into London Heathrow.
According to the ch-aviation capacities module, Virgin Atlantic currently operates 166 weekly departures out of Heathrow with flybe. offering an additional 102 weekly departures.
