Flybe chief could get bumper £1m bonus

THE chief executive of Flybe could pocket a bonus package worth almost half what the budget airline is valued at by a takeover bid.

Christine Ourmieres-Widener, who took the reins at Flybe in January 2017, could be paid a bonus worth £1m this year – 250pc of her £400,000 salary. This means she could bag at most £1.4m in total.

Last month Flybe recommended shareholders accept a £2.2m takeover offer from a consortium which is set to buy Flybe’s operating assets in a separate £2.8m deal.

The boss is usually eligible for a maximum bonus of 150pc of her salary. But her total was boosted to 250pc because she did not get a bonus in 2017-18.

Announcements last year that affected the share price meant that Flybe couldn’t give Ourmieres-Widener a bonus without falling foul of insider trading rules. However, sources said she is unlikely to receive any bonus as the firm will probably miss targets.