With the recent announcement of the completion of the buy-out of Flybe by a company associated with Cyrus Capital Partners, and the potential resumption of operations by the airline this Summer, it feels like we have almost come full circle in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, it's important to remember that, whilst the pandemic pushed Flybe over the edge in March 2020, the root causes of the airline's demise were historical. Numerous reasons, over and above the pandemic, have been cited for the airline's failure, including the selection of the wrong aircraft type for certain routes, competition (and resultant margin squeeze) on many routes and poor customer service.  

The airline now has a fantastic opportunity to start afresh and, as travel restrictions imposed by governments gradually abate, the re-birth may be well-timed.  However, the new management will need to learn from their predecessors' past mistakes (and be the beneficiaries of a healthy dollop of luck) in order for the airline to survive (and hopefully thrive) in the post-Covid environment.  It will be interesting to see what they do differently this time around!