Finnair acquires Flybe Nordic on an interim basis

Finnair has acquired Flybe Uk’s 60% ownership of Flybe Nordic for a transaction price of €1 and Flybe Nordic will transfer to Finnair’s ownership on an interim basis. The transaction has been closed on March 31st, 2015. Finnair continues discussions about the continued ownership of Flybe Nordic. Finnair and StaffPoint Holding and G.W. Sohlberg signed on January 7th, 2015, a Memorandum of Understanding about an arrangement according to which Staffpoint and GWS would own together 60% of Flybe Nordic shares. Flybe Nordic owns fully the Finnish subsidiary Flybe Finland, which operates with a total of 26 ATR and Embraer aircraft a substantial part of Finnair’s domestic and European routes as purchase traffic. Flights operated by Flybe Finland will continue normally. “Finnair aims to find together with its partners a business model that would enable the development of regional flying in a financially sustainable way. We will take an important step to this direction at the beginning of May, when all routes operated by Flybe Finland at their own commercial risk will become a part of Finnair’s contract flying arrangements, as we have communicated earlier. Flybe Finland has also implemented several internal measures to improve the company’s financial position,” says Vauramo.