The airline Flybe has revealed they've accumulated £20m in losses after embarking on ambitious expansion plans.The regional airline said it would start to reduce the size of its fleet after it saw slowing growth in consumer demand.
However, it insisted the current year was going well and efforts to turn a profit again were well underway.
An aggressive expansion plan increased capacity on the airline by 12.3% to 12.7 million seats, but passenger numbers only rose 7.6% to 8.8 million. The airline plans to return six aircraft to the company it leases them from next year, the carrier has previously suffered from having too many planes for the demand on its routes.
But the City appeared pleased with the company's future plans to return to profit, with shares up 6% to 35p in early trading.
In a statement the Chief Executive Christine Ourmieres-Widener said:
"I am truly passionate about the airline industry and I see tremendous opportunities for Flybe to connect and engage with communities and to establish a reputation for excellence in serving our customers. We will be successful in delivering by continually focusing on our costs, increasing our knowledge about who our customers are and what makes them tick, achieving industry-leading operational excellence and implementing a great digital platform.
"Flybe has a great future as Europe's largest regional airline. My team is focused on delivering an exceptional customer experience and building value for shareholders."