360 aircraft and staff from the old Air Europe Express. The new carrier also carried on night freight and mail contracts from the defunct airline. The airline soon began flights from Gatwick to Guernsey, Antwerp and Rotterdam, for which two additional Shorts 360s were purchased. At this time, the airline approached several large carriers with a view to establishing a link, but in the event only British Airways was to show any interest, and a code share agreement was struck between the two. Choosing a new corporate identity The airline rebranded as CityFlyer Express in 1992. 1992 also marked CityFlyer's second year of operation, during which it managed to break even for the first time. (It had recorded a loss of £0.5mn in its first year of operation.) From this point onwards, the airline was to post a consistent profit. Launching a new generation of turboprop planes in the UK CityFlyer Express was the UK launch customer for the ATR 42 regional turboprop, acquiring two in 1992. In the same year Aer Lingus abandoned the Gatwick to Dublin service, allowing CityFlyer to step in with a daily service. BA's takeover of Dan-Air also left the Gatwick to Newcastle route vacant for the airline to assume, offering a three-times daily service and requiring a third ATR 42. The addition of Düsseldorf to the network in 1993 and a frequency increase on the Dublin route led to the acquisition of a fourth ATR. Formalisation of code-share relationship with British Airways Meanwhile, the code share agreement had resulted in several complaints being lodged with British Airways by customers expecting a BA flight and the BA product. BA proposed a solution to this by offering CityFlyer a franchise agreement, which it accepted. This occasion marked the conclusion of the first-ever franchise agreement between British Airways and another airline. It also marked the conclusion of the first franchise agreement in the UK airline industry. Under this arrangement the CityFlyer aircraft would be painted in full BA livery with interiors and cabin layout conforming to BA's contemporary, standard two-class European product. Staff would wear BA uniforms and all flights would operate under BA flight numbers. British Airways itself would take over CityFlyer's marketing and handle all reservations on its behalf. To all intents and purposes, CityFlyer Express would present itself and trade as British Airways. The deal came into effect in June 1993. Further expansion The