Sky: “Virgin Atlantic in talks to acquire Flybe”

Sky News is reporting this evening that Virgin Atlantic is in talks to acquire Flybe.  See their report here.

As we covered last week in some detail – see here for example – the airline has invited offers of interest from other airlines or investment groups.

There is obviously some logic in a deal, although less than you might think.

Flybe sold the bulk of its Gatwick slots of easyJet in 2013 so there is a limit to how much ‘feed’ it can provide to Virgin Atlantic there.  Flybe has routes from Aberdeen and Edinburgh to Heathrow (which Virgin used to run under the Little Red brand) and will start Newquay to Heathrow next year.

More importantly, Flybe is already a Virgin Atlantic codeshare partner on many routes, especially out of Manchester.  Here is the Virgin Atlantic / Flybe codeshare list.  I would be very surprised if other rumoured bidders such as Stobart would end these deals, although I accept that Virgin Atlantic may believe that the modest cost of buying Flybe means it is not worth taking the risk.

The codeshare only covers a small part of the Flybe route network, however.  Unless there is an opportunity to gain a large number of new slots at Gatwick it is difficult to see how much extra feed Flybe could bring if it was wholly owned by Virgin Atlantic.

Virgin Atlantic is also in the middle of a restructuring of its own, with Air France KLM in the final stages of acquiring a 31% stake.  This has already had to be overhauled once in order to deal with the carve-out of the assets of Virgin Flying Club into the new Virgin Group Loyalty Company, in which Air France KLM will have no stake.

We come to Avios.  It isn’t clear how much business the use of Avios drives to Flybe, but the airline clearly believes it is worthwhile or it would not be continuing with the deal.

We can be 99.9% sure than the acquisition of Flybe by Virgin Atlantic would see it drop Avios and adopt Virgin Flying Club miles as its loyalty currency which is likely to be a minor negative.

Fun and games ….. let’s see how the situation unfurls over the next few days.

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How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Virgin Points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

You can choose from two official Virgin Atlantic credit cards (apply here, the Reward+ card has a bonus of 18,000 Virgin Points and the free card has a bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points):

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

3,000 bonus points, no fee and 1 point for every £1 you spend Read our full review

You can also earn Virgin Points from various American Express cards – and these have sign-up bonuses too.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for a year and comes with 20,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 20,000 Virgin Points.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 50,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 50,000 Virgin Points.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Small business owners should consider the two American Express Business cards. Points convert at 1:1 into Virgin Points.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points.