of the company's sale or the establishment of a new partnership with a third party airline increasingly likely. According to Flight International, Bland Group saw little in the form of alternatives to selling GB Airways. A chance meeting between Hatton and EasyJet's chief executive Andrew Harrison at an industry dinner in early 2007 led to in-depth talks between the two airlines commencing weeks thereafter. By 2008, GB Airways was regarded as a niche carrier, operating 44 routes between the UK and destinations centred around southern Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa. Acquisition by EasyJet On 25 October 2007, it was announced that GB Airways was to be sold to EasyJet. EasyJet had issued a formal offer for the airline two months prior, followed by weeks of intense negotiation; while British Airways had the option to purchase GB Airways itself under the terms of their franchise agreement in such an eventuality, the company chose not to exercise it. The UK Office of Fair Trading approved the acquisition on 18 January 2008. The deal was worth £103.5m and was used to expand EasyJet operations at London Gatwick, as well as to commence operations from Manchester Airport. GB Airways continued to honour its British Airways franchise agreement and continued to operate as GB Airways until 29 March 2008, after which all aircraft were transferred to EasyJet. Slots used by GB Airways at London Heathrow Airport were not included in the sale, these were sold to other airlines for an estimated £100 million. While most assets of GB Airways were acquired by Easyjet, the corporate head office, the Beehive, was not included. The employment base at The Beehive closed, resulting in 284 jobs being lost. Two aircraft (G-TTOB & G-TTOE) were sold to British Airways, while the others were returned to the lessors if not part of the sale to easyjet. The remainder transferred to easyJet and were operated in hybrid scheme for a season before being sold to other airlines. Destinations The airline's main operational base was at London Gatwick. Some of its aircraft were also based at London Heathrow and there was a small base at Manchester. Flights from the latter operated as 'BA Connect' services, which operated a no-frills airline style "buy on board" service. The airline mainly served destinations in the Mediterranean region and the Spanish and Portuguese islands, as well as a small number of destinations in inland continental