Flybe's top investor calls for chairman removal, sale investigation

* Hosking asks co to name industry veteran Eric Kohn as director

* Kohn says has support of 40 pct shareholders

* Kohn plans to take up the job if offered to him

* Flybe reaffirms confidence in current chair Laffin

* Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) rise as much as 36 pct in morning trade (Adds comments from Kohn, Virgin; shares, background)

By Arathy S Nair

Jan 28 (Reuters) - The largest shareholder in Flybe Group (LSE: FLYB.L - news) Plc is seeking to oust Chairman Simon Laffin and investigate the British regional airline's cut-price sale to a consortium agreed this month.

Flybe's lowly shares surged as much as 36 percent after London-based investor Hosking Partners LLP asked the company to appoint industry veteran Eric Kohn as director. Hosking owns 18.72 percent of Flybe according to Refinitv Eikon data.

Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Group and Cyrus Capital agreed to buy Flybe for an initial 2.2 million pounds ($2.9 million), a far cry from its 215 million pounds valuation when it joined the London Stock Exchange (Other OTC: LDNXF - news) in 2010.

The offer was only one pence in cash for each Flybe share, a 94 percent discount to the close the previous day.

The consortium agreed to pump in as much as 100 million pounds to keep the airline aloft and four days later revised the deal to include the sale of the main trading company, Flybe Ltd, and Flybe.com for 2.8 million pounds.

The company, which operates routes from about 25 British airports, including domestic connections to London's Heathrow, said on Monday that Hosking had asked for a general meeting to consider its resolutions.

Sky News first reported on Hosking's proposal on Friday.

The airline, like many of its loss making competitors, has struggled with higher fuel costs, currency fluctuations and uncertainties presented by Brexit. Airlines have been looking to bulk up via consolidation to tackle the tough market conditions.

Kohn, currently chairman of Swiss investment banking advisory firm Barons Financial Services, told Reuters he currently has the support of 40 percent of shareholders and that he plans to take up the chairman's role if offered to him.

Kohn, who has served on the boards of several airlines, is credited with the successful turnaround of dba, the former German subsidiary of British Airways, and has acted as financial adviser to many industry deals.

Flybe reaffirmed its confidence in Laffin, and said it believes that "any independent scrutiny of its conduct will support the board's decision-making."

Laffin, who previously worked in senior positions at Safeway Plc, Aegis Group plc, Mitchells & Butlers plc (LSE: MAB.L - news) and Northern Rock plc, has chaired Flybe for more than 5 years.

Virgin Atlantic said the consortium was aware of the statement issued by Flybe on Monday and that it was a matter for Flybe's board. ($1 = 0.7602 pounds) (Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty/Keith Weir)