The announcement of the Ryanair withdraws from Bordeaux in May was a bombshell. During the summer season, the company linked the South-West hub with 37 destinations.
Many of these were seasonal flights (such as Figari, Ibiza, Faro or Trapani). But the company offered a large number of flights to business destinations such as Brussels-Charleroi, Bergamo, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester and Prague.
Ryanair's departure at the end of October did not go unanswered. It has opened up opportunities for other carriers. First and foremost, Air France's low-cost subsidiary, Transavia.
From December, the company will base a plane in Bordeaux and launch six routes (4 of which were previously served by Ryanair). The airline will take off to Agadir (2 flights/week), Istanbul (2 flights/week), Marrakech (4 flights/week), Marseille (4 flights/week), Porto (2 flights/week) and Seville (2 flights/week). Transavia will also continue to operate one or two weekly flights on Dakar.
Transavia is not alone in seizing the traffic potential abandoned by Ryanair. The regional airline Volotea has also decided to strengthen its position in Bordeaux. From November onwards, the carrier will be launching Madrid (3 flights/week), Marrakech (2 flights/week) and Tenerife (1 flight/week). During the festive season, the carrier will also land at Malaga and Naples. And from February, it will be adding two weekly flights to Barcelona.
Finally, a third carrier, Air Arabiawill resume the link Bordeaux-Tanger abandoned by Ryanair. The low-cost carrier will be offering two flights a week from 20 November.
The only fly in the ointment at the moment: the virtual disappearance of flights to the UKBordeaux will be linked only to Bristol and London Gatwick this winter. As well as the lack of a link to Brussels.
