Subject Concerned: Airlines   

British budget airline Flybe is in the final stages of planning for a stock market flotation that would value Britain's biggest domestic carrier at 200 million pounds (US$320 million), The Sunday Times reported.

The carrier would use the proceeds of the flotation in London to fund an expansion programme that may include the takeover of two rivals, the paper said on Nov. 14.

Citing unnamed industry sources, the paper said the two potential takeover targets were Flybaboo, a Swiss regional carrier, and an unidentified Finnish airline.

Flybe's press department could not be contacted immediately for comment.

A posting on the company's website said the carrier is 69 percent owned by Rosedale Aviation Holdings Ltd, and 16 percent is held by staff through an employee share scheme. Another 15 percent is owned by British Airways as a consequence of Flybe's acquisition of BA Connect.

In July, Flybe announced it had struck a deal with Brazilian planemaker Embraer to buy 35 aircraft worth US$1.3 billion, as part of an expansion drive in continental Europe.

The order, which comprised 35 firm initial orders of the Embraer E series aircraft for US$1.3 billion with options for 65 more and purchase rights for a further 40, had a potential total value of US$5 billion.

Flybe, on its website, said the company operated a fleet of 72 aircraft. It flies to 13 countries, serving 38 airports in Britain and 32 in continental Europe.

The company said it carried 7.5 million passengers in 2009 and had 577 million pounds in revenues.