Casil Europe took a 49.99% stake in ATB in 2015, paving the way for a major programme to expand the airport's facilities and develop its network. The French government's refusal to allow Casil Europe to increase its stake in the airport precipitated the group's departure under Chinese management.
However, the departure of the Chinese investors will not affect the future development of Toulouse, France's third largest regional airport, according to Philippe Crébassa, current Chairman of ATB. Over the last few years, the airport has made progress in terms of both quantity and quality. " After 50 million euros invested over the last two years, our capacity is now 12.5 million passengers. "says ATB's CEO.
" Last year, we opened to the public the extension of Concourse D with a new centralised security checkpoint, a shopping area and a pier dedicated to regional and low-cost flights. We are now offering passengers world-class comfort. This means new check-in counters, security checks upgraded to the latest technological standards, a choice of shops worthy of a major airport, an business lounge capacity, the presence of a four-star hotel integrated into the terminal and a direct tramway link to Toulouse" stresses Philippe Crébassa.
The Paris-Toulouse route remains one of the driving forces behind the platform, and the journey time by TGV to Paris - between 4 hours 20 and 5 hours on average - makes this route one of the least exposed to SNCF competition. " Paris Orly-Toulouse is the leading intra-European route with 32 daily frequencies and 2.3 million passengers, plus a further 900,000 with Roissy. With over 3.2 million passengers a year, Toulouse-Paris still accounts for 33% of our traffic. "explains Catherine Gay, ATB's Director of Strategy and Development.
Scheduled long-haul flights in 2020?
However, it is international traffic that is showing the strongest growth. " International traffic exceeded domestic traffic for the first time, with 4.8 million passengers compared with 4.72 million domestic passengers. International traffic is gaining market share every year, thanks in particular to the low-cost dynamic. The market share of low-cost carriers stands at 42.2 % of all passengers, with easyJet even becoming the airport's biggest airline with 2.52 million passengers and 25 destinations. "says Catherine Gay.
However, the Air France-KLM group - present through Air France, KLM and Hop by Air France - generates the highest number of passengers at 3.33 million, representing a market share of 34.5%.
The outlook for 2019 looks rather good. " We are keeping our fingers crossed that we will reach ten million passengers this year, which would be a first for our hub. At worst, this figure will be reached in 2020. "says Philippe Crébassa.
" We're pinning a lot of hopes on long-haul flights, which are still the weak link in our airport chain at the moment. It's true that we have regular charter flights on the Canada. We have just welcomed a special flight from Tokyo on an Air France Boeing 777, which represented the first link between Japan and a French region "says Catherine Gay.
" We are due to welcome Air Canada in 2020 and are working on the installation of an American carrier to serve the East Coast of the United States. We also have high hopes for the new EU-Qatar open skies agreement, with the arrival of Qatar Airways at Toulouse." she concludes.
