Moves by a regional airline to optimise its fleet are bearing fruit.

Flybe, which operates from Norwich Airport, saw passenger numbers increase by 8.1% year-on-year to 2.3 million in the third quarter of the 2017/18 trading year.

It also recorded a 13.3% increase in revenue per seat to £52.92 – helped by reducing seat capacity by 4.2% – with overall passenger revenue growing 8.5% year-on-year to £158.8m in the quarter.

The carrier is in the processing of handing back six leased Bombardier Q400 aircraft, with four already returned and the remaining pair scheduled for return by the end of March.

Meanwhile an agreement to operate two E195 jets from London Southend airport for Stobart Air is now under way.

In its last trading update in October Flybe said the cost of improving the reliability of the Q400s would hit profits in the first half of the year.

The airline added that the rate of increase in its maintenance costs had slowed as it 'achieved greater control over reliability'.