Flybe flower service takes off in new brand departure

Low-cost airline Flybe is launching into the 3bn flower delivery market in its first brand extension out of air travel. The launch is part of a strategy to develop the brand into online shopping.

Flybe Flowers, which will be distributed by an undisclosed online flower provider, will launch in the next month. It will offer a next-day delivery and flowers will arrive in Flybe branded boxes. The airline will take a share of revenue generated from each flower sale.

The service will be marketed to Flybe customers through online, e-mail and onboard channels, but the airline’s marketing director, Simon Lilley, wants to attract customers from outside its database.

Lilley says: “Prices will be competitive and with delivery to any door in the UK we expect it to be a big success.”

Other services will follow, he confirms, and many of them will be available to the public. Flybe is also launching a service to deliver duty free products, although this will be restricted to Flybe passengers due to onboard sales regulations.

Lilley aims to make Flybe the first airline to offer services delivering “everything from welcome home packs after holiday makers have travelled with us, to bottles of wine and the latest duty-free fragrances.”

Lilley says: “Flybe is the market leader for onboard sales in the short-haul market. Our passengers spend an average of 1.50 per head – more than any other airline. The product set is obviously right, so we want to deliver it straight to people’s doors.”