Flybe has announced a return to profit following a cost-cutting programme.
The domestic airline made a pre-tax profit of £8.1 million in the year to March 31, compared with losses of £41.1 million the previous year.
It recently undertook a major restructuring programme that included giving up airport slots, grounding surplus aircraft, multiple route cancellations and 500 job losses (see news, November 2013 and December 2013).
Flybe CEO Saad Hammad said the airline has made a good start to the 2014/2015 financial year, which he said is "in line with expectations".
The results showed total group revenue under management rose from £781.5 million to £868.4 million and the airline posted record passenger numbers and load factors in its UK business.
Hammad said: "2013/2014 marks the rebirth of Flybe. We implemented a turnaround plan to stabilise the business and then successfully raised more than £150 million net to strengthen our balance sheet and drive sustainable profitable growth.
"The return to profitability is a great step forwards. This enables us to start implementing our twin-engine strategy of growing our UK branded business and our white label operations across Europe."
Flybe operates flights mainly within the UK but also runs some scheduled flights to European destinations.
In April, Flybe announced a five-year deal for major expansion at London City Airport (see news, April 23).
Graham Smith
