Under the deal, Bombardier will undertake an enhancement programme to make Flybe's current 45-strong Q400 fleet one of the "most operationally efficient regional fleets in the world," said the budget airline, whose investors include billionaire financier George Soros.

"Any decisions regarding incremental capacity deployment in the UK will see the Bombardier Q400 aircraft play an integral role," Flybe Chief Executive Saad Hammad said in a statement.

(Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)

Stocks treated in this article : Bombardier, Inc., Flybe Group PLC