Cardiff Airport has welcomed the possibility of working with Flybe on providing customers with greater capacity to more destinations throughout Europe. Flybe is the largest regional airline in Europe, and has just announced orders for another 35 aircraft. Currently serving 11 destinations out of the Welsh capital including Edinburgh, Belfast and Paris, the carrier intends to expand its fleet with Embraer 175s, each capable of carrying 88 passengers.

Chairman and chief executive of Flybe, Jim French CBE, said he was pleased to confirm the order for 35 new aircraft, a deal worth £850 million. He added that the acquisition of the planes would help to firm up Flybe’s position as the leading regional carrier in Europe.

Business development and commercial director at Cardiff Airport, Steve Hodgetts, said that in light of the announcement that the airline was expanding its fleet, he would be extremely keen to explore the potential of offering Welsh passengers more routes throughout Europe.

The first aircraft are due to be delivered to Flybe in September 2011. The seating configuration in the Embraer 175 is a 2×2 layout, which the airline claims is its customers’ preference. Keen to build on the business market, destinations from Cardiff could soon include Frankfurt, Lyon and Dusseldorf.

Hodgetts said that there was an increasing demand for flights to popular leisure destinations, as well as important business hubs, throughout Europe and that Flybe would be the perfect partners to work with in getting customers to and from such destinations. He added that any such partnership would not only benefit the airport but the rest of Wales as well.