BAe 146 operator Flybe announced provisional profits of UKP3.1 million (US$5.7 million) in the 2003/04 financial year. The results indicate that the Exeter based airline’s transformation into a low-fare airline is going well. The announcement comes a day after Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, predicted that there would soon be a shake-out in the European low-fare sector, and listed Flybe as a likely casualty. Flybe’s managing director, Jim French, could not resist commenting that Mr O’Leary “should refrain from commentating on things he clearly has no comprehension of.” Flybe operates sixteen BAe 146s.