A flange hose fitting assembly and method wherein a captive flange is attached to a flexible hose nipple after the nipple has been crimped to the flexible hose. The flange, which may be selected from different types of flanges, is slipped over the front end of the nipple that is crimped at its back end to the flexible hose, and then locked to the nipple by a suitable retaining device, such as a retaining ring, spring, screw-on or glue-on ring, press-fit ring, piston-ring, shaft seal, U-shaped halves or other split configurations arranged around a locking groove in the nipple, etc.