28 May, 2019

Christine Ourmières-Widener steps down as boss of Flybe

Christine Ourmières-Widener, one of the all too few women in CEO roles in the aviation industry,  is leaving the British regional airline Flybe, which was sold earlier in this year to rushed together consortium including Virgin Atlantic and Stobart Group called Connect Airways. 

Ourmières-Widener confirmed the news in a letter to the airline's staff, "It has been the greatest privilege to lead Flybe over the past two tumultuous years and to work with such an outstanding and dedicated team of people." she wrote.

"I knew that taking the helm at the time I did would pose real challenges - but the scale of them after years of difficulty at the company surprised even me."

"However, together we persevered and, despite the many curve balls thrown at us late in the day, have been able to secure 2,500 jobs with the sale to Connect and provide our customers with the service they have come to enjoy without any significant disruption".

Christine Ourmières-Widener's last day at the company will be 15th July and her successor will be announced before she leaves, according to information from the Exter based company, however, indications are that it is someone from the upper management structure of Virgin Atlantic, although no details have yet been released. 





Earlier this month the airline released details of its forthcoming winter schedule,  the highlights include:

Key Highlights of Flybe’s 2019-20 Winter schedule
- Up to 2,521 flights a week
- Total of 97 routes
- Up to 162 flights a week to Heathrow from AberdeenEdinburghNewquay
- Up to 180 flights a week from London City to Amsterdam, Belfast City, Dusseldorf, Edinburgh and Exeter
- 9 Winter Ski routes starting 14th December: 
                                        Chambery from Birmingham, Exeter, Manchester and Southampton
                                        Geneva from Birmingham, Exeter, Isle of Man, Jersey and    
                                        Southampton
-  Return of popular Christmas and New Year flights for peak holiday period from Birmingham  to Newquay: from Birmingham and Manchester to Nantes; and Southampton to Limoges 
-  Daily flights from Doncaster Sheffield to Amsterdam
Overview of Flybe bases
Aberdeen – 4 routes  inc Heathrow (up to 3xday) and Manchester (up to 6xday)
Belfast City -13 routes inc Birmingham & Manchester (up to 7xday); London City (up to 6xday)
Birmingham – 23 routes inc Amsterdam (up to 7xday); Belfast City (up to 7xday); Berlin, Hamburg, Hannover, Milan, Stuttgart; Paris Charles de Gaulle (up to 3xday)
Dusseldorf – 5 routes inc Birmingham (up to 3xday); London City (up to 3xday); Manchester (up to 4xday)
Edinburgh – 9 routes inc Heathrow (up to 5xday); London City (up to 4xday); Birmingham (up to 8xday); Manchester (up to 4xday); Southampton (up to 4xday)
Exeter – 13 routes inc Amsterdam (up to 2xday); London City (daily); Manchester (up to 4xday); Newcastle (up to 1 daily); Paris Charles de Gaulle (2xday)
Glasgow – 6 routes inc Belfast City (up to 4xday); Birmingham (up to 7xday); Southampton (up to 4xday)
Isle of Man – 2 routes: Liverpool (up to 3xday) and Manchester (up to 4xday)
Manchester – 21 routes inc Amsterdam (up to 4xday); Isle of Man (up to 4xday); Jersey and Knock (up to 1 daily); Luxembourg, Lyon, Milan, Nantes, Newquay, Paris Charles de Gaulle (up to 4xday); Toulouse
Southampton – 15 routes inc Amsterdam (up to 4xday); Belfast City (up to 3xday); Bergerac; Dub (up to 4xday); Manchester (up to 7xday); Newcastle (up to 3xday); Paris Charles de Gaulle (up to 3xday)


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