This will soon be a reality. A few days ago, the company Transavia France has announced that next spring it will be basing two Boeing 737 à Montpellier. A wise choice, as it is the last major French metropolis that is not a "city". basis for a low-cost airlineThe airport is located in a catchment area of two million inhabitants within a 60-minute radius.
Montpellier's economic dynamism is another factor in this choice. According to airport management, Montpellier is attracting a large number of young companies and start-up being the leading region in terms of employment in this sector. It is also a renowned centre for medicine with one of the largest medical universities in Europe.
As for the airport, it is the 12th largest in France with traffic of 1.9 million passengers expected this year. Nevertheless, its share of the region's total airport traffic remains low. According to civil aviation statistics, Montpellier accounted for just 2.1% of total passengers excluding Paris in 2018well behind Nice (15%), Toulouse (10.5%) and Marseille (10.2%).
Montpellier has already landed eight low-cost or hybrid airlines Aer Lingus, Air Arabia to Morocco, easyJet, Eurowings, Norwegian, TUI Fly, Volotea and Transavia Holland, which offers flights to the Netherlands and Europe. Rotterdam. In addition to Air France and its ShuttleBritish Airways, KLM, SAS, Chalair, Royal Air Maroc and Ural Air can also be found on this route. Moscow.
On traffic of 1.64 million passengers between January and October 2019, low-cost carriers achieved a market share of 39.7% (37.7% for 2018). Montpellier is a long way behind Nice with a low-cost market share of 43.8%, Toulouse with 42.2% and Bordeaux with 55.2%. In Languedoc, low-cost airlines even account for 98 to 99% of passenger traffic at Béziers and Nîmes airports, albeit on a much smaller passenger base.
We are setting up in Montpellier with the aim of becoming a major player at the airport, as we have done at Orly, Nantes and Lyon.
For Nathalie StublerThe choice of Montpellier is justified by the fact that ". Low-cost services are still underdeveloped from this airport, despite strong passenger demand. We're going to offer some great destinations, many of which are not yet served directly. For Transavia France, this announcement is an important step in the development of our airline, with the creation of our own "low-cost airline". first base in the South of France. We are setting up in Montpellier with the aim of becoming a major player at the airport, as we have done at Orly, Nantes and Lyon. ".
" This is a historic moment for our airport and a strong signal for our region. With two aircraft based here, Transavia France is demonstrating its confidence in the potential of our market and opening up fantastic prospects for development. From 2020, there will be a total of almost 50 direct destinations from Montpellier! "stated Emmanuel BrehmerChairman of the Board of Montpellier Airport.
We can therefore estimate that the arrival of Transavia will result in an increase in the power of the low-cost segment. Passenger traffic should increase next year from 43% to 45% market share. In time, it could even break the 50% barrier.
