Flybe 2.0 confidentiality rules ‘concern pilots’

Thursday 10 February 2022

Pilots joining the soon-to-be-launched ‘Flybe 2.0’ are complaining that unusually strict confidentiality rules have been thrust upon them, it has been reported.

According to the Telegraph, sector sources say new recruits are being asked not to share information about working conditions with third parties ahead of the airline’s relaunch from its new Birmingham base in Spring.

The previous incarnation of Flybe – which was founded in late 70s as Jersey European Airways – collapsed in March 2020, one of the earliest and highest profile casualties of the pandemic. 

The brand was bought for a nominal sum by a lobal private equity firm Cyrus Capital last year in the first ever rescue of a British airline from insolvency, and a new CEO, Dave Pflieger, was appointed in autumn 2021.

Weeks later, it announced a new headquarters in Birmingham with the promise of 200 jobs. 

However, last week, The Telegraph reported potential turbulence in pilot recruitment. They said “industry insiders” claimed salaries being offered to captains are around half of the industry standard, starting “as low as £50,000 a year”. 

It also reported that some new recruits were concerned about stringent confidentiality rules.

Flybe declined to comment, but pilots union Balpa decided to call out such restrictions. 

“Pilots are key safety professionals who spend their entire careers seeking to turn the complex process of flying passengers, freight and mail to their destinations safely and efficiently,” said General Secretary Martin Chalk.

“Over decades, by sharing information and collaborating with other aviation system professionals, pilots have contributed to the creation of the safest form of travel ever.

“Any airline who offers such restrictions as part of the employment of professional pilots has clearly failed to understand this, and will not go far in our industry.”