FLYBE is preparing to take continental Europe by storm in the next phase of its expansion.

The Exeter-based airline yesterday reported pre-tax profits of £5.7 million for the year to the end of March — up from £0.1 million on 2008/9 after exceptional costs were taken into account.

And having emerged as one of only three major European airlines to report profits throughout the global recession, the company intends to press ahead with expansion plans in Western Europe.

Chief commercial officer Mike Rutter said: "The big thing for Flybe is it will in the next year have made a move into continental Western Europe. It will have its first base on foreign soil and by that stage will have started to roll out exactly the same business model as in the UK in one or two geographies in continental Europe.

"That's exciting for the South West because our headquarters will always remain in Exeter and as we grow in size I would expect this to create upwards of 200 to 250 jobs in Exeter between now and 2012/13.

"We genuinely believe this phase of expansion will take Flybe to the next level and that this will be the Flybe decade."

The company is looking at seven potential European bases and will decide which to develop in the next few months.

The airline aims to replicate its success in becoming the UK's largest domestic airline. It currently operates 207 routes across 13 countries, taking off from 39 UK and 32 European airports.

Flybe's increase in profits was achieved despite passenger numbers dipping by 100,000 to 7.2million during the year and as turnover remained broadly steady at £570.5 million, down £1.9 million on 2008/09.

A deal to support new Greek airline Olympic Air with its regional operations was described as Flybe's "bridge over the recession". This saw the Exeter-based company selling or leasing surplus aircraft and crew to the Greek airline, thereby avoiding the need for significant redundancies as well as giving Flybe considerable experience of operating in Europe.

In July Flybe announced plans to purchase up to 140 Embraer E-Series aircraft. An extensive codeshare agreement with Air France was also signed this summer and Flybe is in discussions with Finnair about cooperating to provide regional services in Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea area.

Chairman and chief executive Jim French said: ''While the global economic outlook remains unclear, we remain optimistic that Flybe will continue to make strong progress during 2010/11, especially as a result of our recent deals with Air France and Embraer.

"We have continued to grow our market share in the UK and have announced a string of exciting business developments which will accelerate the roll-out of the Flybe proposition into continental Europe."

Flybe expects opportunities including new joint ventures and strategic alliances with some of Europe's largest legacy carriers to arise as restructuring and consolidation continues within the aviation industry. The company said it was "well positioned across Europe to capitalise on any future opportunities which may arise".

One opportunity it chose not to seize was the chance to buy Air Southwest, whose sale by the Sutton Harbour Group to Eastern Airways was announced yesterday.