Keeping up with the flying Scotsman

Nick Kochan meets Jim French, chief executive of the growing British regional carrier that makes a virtue of fuel efficiency and passenger convenience

You have barely entered the office of Jim French, chief executive of Flybe, when he grabs for the model on his desk of his latest turboprop, the Bombardier Q400. He’s not boasting about its power or design or price. His interest is its capacity to use fuel efficiently on short-haul routes. He points to the propellers, which are reminiscent of second world war aircraft, and admits that his use of the plane in the Flybe fleet has made him an industry pariah. ‘I went to conferences and felt like I was being sent into the corner for bad behaviour. In fact I’ve shown they were wrong. People are becoming more aware of what we do in the environment and how we affect the environment. People want to travel on more efficient aircraft.’

Environmental concerns are a passion for this Lowland Scotsman. He says he is a keen farmer and gardener and that he has refurbished every house he has lived in over the last 38 years – six of them – from a derelict state. (I gather he also has a number of expensive gas-guzzling cars, though it’s a hobby he does not mention.)

French has gained prominence since he acquired BA Connect from British Airways in 2007. BA was so keen to get it off its hands that it provided a £140 million dowry. The merger has added more than 50 per cent to the number of passengers Flybe carries in a year, to 7.6 million. Flybe has become the largest operator in regional centres such as Birmingham, Manchester and Southampton. The merger has ensured that Flybe is still making a profit at a time when many low-cost companies are struggling.

French, who is 55 this month, has worked in the airline industry since he was 16. He went to school in Ayr and found weekend work at nearby Prestwick Airport. He learned the administrative detail involved in making an airline work. ‘I started at the bottom of this business and I’ve worked my way through most jobs. I don’t fly airplanes, I don’t fix them with spanners, but I’ve done most other things.’

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