Flybe has entered talks with “a number of strategic operators” about the potential sale of the airline as the Exeter, UK-based carrier continues to struggle with a weak balance sheet and dwindling cash resources. In a statement issued Wednesday, Flybe said it has launched a “review of its strategic options,” including further capacity and cost-saving measures, unspecified initiatives to strengthen its balance sheet and preserve cash, and the potential sale of the company.

Flybe, Europe’s largest regional airline, flies 53 percent of all UK domestic flights excluding London with a fleet of 54 Bombardier Q400s, six Embraer E195s, 11 E175s, and five ATR 72 turboprops. It now operates 192 routes serving 14 countries from 75 departure points in the UK and Europe and ranks as the largest scheduled airline at 12 airports.

While Flybe turned its sights to reinforcing its marketing identity since Christine Ourmieres-Widener became CEO in January 2017, a five-year business plan called for a reduction in fleet size from 85 in May 2017 to 70 in 2020. Speaking at the Aero Club of the UK on June 7, Ourmieres-Widener acknowledged that the airline had struggled to find an identity in recent years. “I’m not convinced it thought it was a low-cost airline or something else,” she said. The airline depicted itself as a new low-cost carrier when its forebear, British European, rebranded as Flybe in 2002. It acquired BA Connect in 2006 and floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2010, but since then it has struggled to stabilize its market position against the ever-growing presence of LCCs such as EasyJet and Ryanair. “Did the plan succeed?” asked Ourmieres-Widener. “Not really; the seat-mile cost of regional aircraft could not beat narrowbodies.”

The Flybe CEO, who began her career as an aeronautical engineer before joining Air France and eventually leading CityJet when it operated as part of that group, almost immediately upon her appointment recognized that Flybe's fleet composition presented a problem. "After lengthy analysis, we decided the [Bombardier] Q400 will stay as the backbone of our fleet; it is cheaper to operate than the jets and our average flight time is 59 minutes,” she said. 

“We will continue to operate a significant number of Embraer 175s on busier routes,” she continued, “but the [Embraer] 195 doesn’t suit our network.” The airline placed a large order for Embraer E-Jets in 2010 with great fanfare, but its re-focus on turboprops dates back to 2014 when it canceled its remaining order for Embraer 175s and leased more Q400s from U.S. airline Republic Airways.

By last month, all the fleet maneuvering hadn’t yet overcome the pressures of a softening short-haul market, higher fuel prices, and currency exchange disadvantages. In a profit warning, the airline said it would incur a pre-tax loss of about £22 million ($28.5 million) for the year, against market expectations of a £3.5 million loss. The company lost £19.2 million last year.