NOT content with being the UK’s largest regional airline Southampton Airport carrier Flybe is looking to expand with a new venture in the Middle East.

A lucrative arrangement with Greece’s Olympic airline, which saw Flybe lease four unwanted planes complete with staff and management expertise, helped the Saints’ shirt sponsor to defy the recession and announce a small profit.

In an interview with the Daily Echo, Flybe’s chief commercial officer Mike Rutter revealed a similar venture in Bahrain is on the cards.

“We have developed an excellent concept assisting airlines in setting up new ventures and starting up new airlines and the first of those was the Olympic airline in Greece,” he said.

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“It allowed us to lease four aircraft we didn’t need at the bottom of the economic cycle and deploy them profitably to support Olympic.

“We call it a bridge over the recession and we are now about to do a similar venture in Bahrain. It has created a lot of opportunities for us.”

The airline, which employs about 250 people in Southampton, reported that profits had plummeted by almost two thirds in the recession.

A surplus of £12.8m in 2008/09 was down from £35.4m in 2007/08.

Actual profits are just £100,000 after £12.7m restructuring costs.

Passenger numbers also grew by 300,000 to 7.3 million, while turnover rose 6.8 per cent to £572.4m.

Mr Rutter described himself as “very pleased at the performance given the state of the economy and the large numbers of our peers who reported record losses”.

The privately-owned carrier said it had seen “good profits”

in the six months to September 30 and was winning market share as the industry suffered economic pressure, rocketing fuel prices and steep falls in passenger demand.

Mr Rutter said there was still no indication of when Flybe would press ahead with its floatation on the Stock Exchange, known as an initial public offering (IPO).

“We have never hidden the fact that we would like to have an IPO but the conditions for that have to be right.” he said. “We would like to do it but only when it is in the best interests of the shareholders and there are no specific plans.”