Le restructuring plan of the group Air France is today confirming the closure of part of its domestic routesin order to meet the objective of a 40% reduction in capacity on the French domestic network by the end of the year. 2021. It was one of the conditions by the French State to a financial support totalling seven billion euros4 billion in guaranteed bank loans. The company is also expected to cut 7,500 jobs.
In the eye of the storm are destinations departing fromOrly on routes where trains offer a rail alternative of less than 2 hours 30 minutes. From the regions, the company should close the very loss-making cross-border routes.
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This will result in the closure of the Orly-Lyon and Orly-Nantesas well as the famous air shuttle between Orly and Paris. Bordeaux. According to various sources, other routes should be transferred to the low-cost subsidiary, Transavia. For the first time, the company could thus become a genuine player in French domestic transport and operate domestic routes with a "more appropriate" structure, according to sources within the company.
Above all, Transavia would be working with costs capable of compete with low-cost flights like easyJet or Volotea on certain routes. Transavia could therefore take over the Orly routes to Biarritz, Brest, Montpellier, Perpignan and Toulon. The low-cost carrier will also take over the busiest routes out of Lyon, the regional hub of HOP! Air France's regional hub, such as flights to Nice.
Transavia could also operate a few frequencies to Nice or Toulouse from Orly in order to better compete with easyJet. However, Air France management has confirmed that it will continue to operate its shuttle services to Marseille, Nice and Toulouse, as well as routes to Corsica.
Transavia should also operate on certain routes between the south of France and the rest of France. Its Montpellier base would be ideal for flights between the city of Languedoc and cities such as Lille, Nantes and Strasbourg. Negotiations have also been conducted with the unions to lift the clause which until now has limited Transavia's operational scope to medium-haul international routes.
The Chief Executive Officer of Air France, Anne RigailHowever, she was reassuring. According to her, the Air France group, particularly with the rise of Transavia, should maintain 95% of its destinations in France and more than 80% of its seat capacity on the domestic network. What we will see is a game of musical chairs between Air France, HOP and Transavia rather than the complete disappearance of the national flag on the domestic network.
