Рубрика Business aviation in Nice

Ryanair to Open Two New Bases in France

Ryanair today announced significant expansion in France, launching two new bases at Bordeaux and Marseille as part of its Summer 2019 schedule, with two new based aircraft for each airport and 27 new routes connecting 12 countries.

In Bordeaux, Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer, David O’Brien said:

“We are pleased to open two new French bases in Bordeaux and Marseille, as we base 4 aircraft and invest $400m at the airports.”

Chairman of the Executive Board of SA Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport, Pascal Personne said:

“Ryanair’s decision to base two aircraft at Bordeaux Airport is excellent news for the airport and for our region. This new base will undeniably increase the attractivity of New Aquitaine and represents the opportunity to develop a large number of new destinations. We have been actively working with Ryanair since 2009 and we believe that Ryanair’s potential for growth with the commercial power we know they have, is very important for Bordeaux and is a sign of a long-term commitment.”

Philippe Bernand, Chairman of the Executive Board of Marseille Provence Airport, says:

“We are very pleased with Ryanair’s decision to accelerate its development in Marseille by opening a new base and offering 11 new destinations.
It is an essential and historical partner of our Airport, and more generally of our territory, from a tourist and economic point of view. “

From Bordeaux, Ryanair will fly to Bari, Cologne Bonn, Copenhagen, Dublin, Fez, Krakow, Manchester, Marrakesh, Marseille, Mykonos, Nantes, Naples, Ouarzazate, Tangier, Valencia and Venice Treviso.

From Marseille, the airline will launch flights to Agadir, Alicante, Bologna, Bordeaux, Bucharest, Budapest, Manchester, Naples, Ouarzazate, Prague and Warsaw.

Air France Launches 6 Seasonal Services Between the French Regions and Greece, Israel and Lebanon

This summer, Air France is launching 6 seasonal services between the French regions and Greece, Israel and Lebanon: Marseille – Athens, Marseille – Beirut, Nice – Athens, Nice – Beirut, Nice – Tel Aviv and Toulouse – Athens.

Flights will be operated by Airbus A320 with a capacity of 170 seats and by Airbus A321 with a capacity of 212 seats.

On departure from Marseille, Air France customers will be able to fly to Athens (Greece) and Beirut (Lebanon) respectively from 14 April to 30 September 2018 with up to 3 weekly flights and from 23 July to 31 August 2018 with 3 weekly flights.

On departure from Nice, the company’s customers will be able to fly to Athens (Greece), Beirut(Lebanon) and Tel Aviv (Israel) respectively from 24 July to 1st September 2018 with 3 weekly flights, from 23 July to 31 August 2018 with 2 weekly flights and from 21 March to 21 October 2018 up to twice weekly.

On departure from Toulouse, Air France will operate a non-stop service to Athens (Greece) from 21 April to 30 September 2018 up to 4 times weekly.

These medium-haul services respond to leisure travelers’ high demand during the summer holiday period. Moreover, the fewer trips made by business travelers in July and August enable the company to redeploy its aircraft on departure from the French regions. In this way, Air France optimizes the use of its fleet and increases capacity on its medium-haul network.

With its decision to renew the 2017 summer season services on departure from Nice and Toulouse, Air France is confirming the success of these routes by extending services throughout the 2018 summer period.

Air France Announces 5.5% Increase in Capacity

For the 2017-2018 winter season, Air France-KLM is continuing its growth strategy by offering 52 new services.

The group is increasing capacity by 5.5% compared to the previous winter season. Growth will be driven by the long-haul passenger network (+ 4.7%), the medium- and short-haul passenger network (+ 5.5%) and Transavia’s low-cost operations (+14.6%).

“With an increase in capacity of 5.5% this winter, Air France-KLM is resuming the offensive in the air transport market and is maintaining its growth commitments. Thanks to our powerful network, our strategic partnerships and more flexible management, we are able to adapt and respond to the stronger demand on both leisure and business routes. This growth is an illustration of the positive momentum initiated almost a year ago with our strategic plan Trust Together” said Jean-Marc Janaillac, Chairman and CEO of Air France-KLM.

Long-haul

In the United States, Air France will take over Delta Air Lines’ flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Chicago-O’Hare by Airbus A330 up to 5 times a week. On the Paris-Charles de Gaulle – San Francisco route, a Boeing 777, equipped with the La Première cabins, will operate daily, all year round. To Boston, the Boeing 787 will operate daily. Finally, on departure from Point-à-Pitre, Air France will offer 2 weekly frequencies by Airbus A320 to Atlanta, Delta Air Lines hub. KLM will continue to serve Minneapolis from Amsterdam-Schiphol, which started on 27 March 2017, with 3 weekly frequencies. The route will be operated by Boeing 787 as from 29 October. This offer will be in addition to the 2 weekly frequencies operated by Delta Air Lines, the Air France-KLM group’s transatlantic partner. KLM will operate flights to Miami until the end of the 2017-2018 winter season.

In Canada, customers will benefit from the Boeing 787 on the Paris-Charles de Gaulle-Toronto route by Air France and Amsterdam-Schiphol – Calgary by KLM.

In Mexico, Air France will continue to expand on departure from its hub. To Mexico City, seat capacity will be significantly increased with a daily flight by Airbus A380, in continuation of the summer season. To Cancun, a frequency will be added by Boeing 777, i.e. 5 weekly flights.

In Costa Rica, Air France will increase capacity to San José with an additional flight, i.e. 3 weekly services for the winter season. KLM will launch flights to the new destination of San José from its Amsterdam-Schiphol hub with 2 weekly frequencies, operated by Boeing 787. Customers will also be able to fly to Costa Rica thanks to the Amsterdam-Schiphol – Panama route which offers an onward flight to San José operated on a code-share basis by Copa Airlines or thanks to the direct flight operated by Air France from Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

In Brazil, the group will respond to the strong demand on the Brazilian market. Air France and KLM will increase capacity to Sao Paulo, respectively offering up to 14 and 7 weekly frequencies. Air France will operate the route by Boeing 787 as of February 2018. KLM will also increase its flight frequencies to Rio de Janeiro thanks to a daily flight by Boeing 787.

In Panama, both airlines will operate flights to Panama City with 7 weekly frequencies, notably by Boeing 787 operated by Air France as of December 2017.

In Argentina, KLM will increase capacity to Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile (Chile) with an additional frequency. Air France will suspend services to Montevideo as a continuation of Buenos Aires to increase daily capacity to the Argentine capital.

To the Caribbean, KLM will respond to strong demand by offering additional flights to Curaçao from December 2017 to February 2018. Finally, KLM will continue to serve Cartagena, started during the 2017 summer season, as a continuation of Bogota, with 3 frequencies weekly operated by Boeing 787.

In Greater China, passengers to and from Hong Kong will benefit from the latest Air France travel cabins daily on board its Boeing 777, in continuation of the 2017 summer season. KLM will increase seat capacity by 9% to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong in China as well as Seoul in South Korea.

In Japan, Air France will increase capacity with an additional flight to Tokyo-Haneda and a 29% increase in seat capacity to Tokyo-Narita. KLM will offer an additional frequency to Osaka with 6 weekly frequencies.

To Thailand, customers will benefit from more seats in the Business cabin on a daily basis on flights operated by Air France.

In India, the Air France-KLM group will benefit from the commercial cooperation with its partner Jet Airways, thanks to better connections to Chennai from Paris and Bangalore from Amsterdam. These two new code-share routes will enable Delta and Air France-KLM to benefit from a stronger network over the North Atlantic and to offer customers continuous and improved service. Air France will operate a daily flight to Bangalore by Boeing 777 equipped with the latest travel cabins. Finally, KLM will strengthen its position in the region by launching its new Amsterdam-Schiphol – Mumbai route operated 3 times a week from 29 October 2017 and by adding an additional flight to Colombo by Boeing 787, operated 3 times a week.

In West Africa, Air France will operate 3 weekly flights to Accra (Ghana), a daily flight between Bamako and Abidjan by Boeing 787 and a direct service to Ouagadougou with 5 weekly frequencies.

In Angola and Congo, Air France’s multi-stop flight Paris-Charles de Gaulle – Luanda – Kinshasa will be replaced by direct flights from Paris-Charles de Gaulle with 3 weekly flights respectively in continuation of the 2017 summer season.

In Nigeria, Air France will adapt its flight schedule for the winter season with a daily flight to Lagos and four weekly frequencies to Abuja-Port Harcourt.

In Liberia and Sierra Leone, KLM will continue to service Monrovia and Freetown with 3 weekly frequencies.

In South Africa, Air France will increase the number of frequencies to Cape Town from 3 to 5 weekly flights. Johannesburg will be served by the Airbus A380.

To the Indian Ocean, the Group will respond to the strong demand of tourist travellers by launching flights to two new destinations. Air France will serve Malé (Maldives) with 2 weekly flights as from 1 November. KLM will launch the Amsterdam-Schiphol – Mauritius route operated by Boeing 787 on the basis of 3 flights a week as from 30 October. Air France will also operate 11 weekly frequencies to Mauritius during the high season, in addition to those operated by Air Mauritius as part of the joint venture.

Medium- and short-haul

On its medium- and short-haul network, the group will offer 16 new services this winter:

• From Paris-Charles de Gaulle operated by Air France: Marrakech (Morocco), Palma de Mallorca (Spain) and Porto (Portugal);
• From Amsterdam-Schiphol operated by KLM: Catania (Italy), Gdansk (Poland) Graz (Austria), London-City Airport (United Kingdom), Malaga (Spain), Porto (Portugal);
• From the French regions operated by HOP! Air France: from Montpellier to Algiers (Algeria), from Nantes to Hamburg (Germany), from Lyon to Nuremberg (Germany) and Rouen (France), from Bordeaux to Düsseldorf (Germany), from Strasbourg to Rennes (France) and from Caen to Toulouse (France).

On departure from Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Air France will operate three new services this winter: Marrakech (Morocco), Palma de Mallorca (Spain) and Porto (Portugal) in continuation of the summer season.

Joon will launch its medium-haul flights as from 1 December to:

  • Barcelona (Spain): 51 weekly flights
  • Berlin (Germany): 37 weekly flights
  • Porto (Portugal): 3 weekly flights
  • Lisbon (Portugal): 28 weekly flights

This new offer meets the Group’s strategy to win back market share as part of the Trust Together strategic project. The capacity offered by the new airline Joon, combined with a more intensive use of its aircraft will enable it to serve new destinations in Europe during the winter season.

In continuation of the summer season, KLM will continue to serve Catania (Italy), Gdansk (Poland), Graz (Austria), London-City (UK), Malaga (Spain) and Porto (Portugal). For the 2017-2018 winter season, the company will reinforce its medium-haul network by increasing flight frequencies to Athens (Greece), Aalborg (Denmark), Dublin (Ireland), Helsinki (Finland), Gothenburg (Sweden), Luxembourg (Luxembourg), Nuremberg (Germany), Rome (Italy) and Stuttgart (Germany).

On departure from the French regions, HOP! Air France will increase its network capacity with 7 new routes:

  • To Germany: Nantes – Hamburg and Bordeaux – Düsseldorf with 3 weekly flights;
  • To Algeria: Montpellier – Algiers with 2 weekly flights;
  • To the French regions: Strasbourg – Rennes and Caen – Toulouse with 4 weekly flights, as well as Lyon – Rouen and Lyon – Nuremberg in continuation of the summer season.

Transavia

Transavia maintains sustained growth and is developing its network on departure from all its bases in France and the Netherlands with 26 new routes**:
– On departure from Eindhoven: Marrakech (Morocco), Seville (Spain), Tel Aviv (Israel), Stockholm (Sweden);
– On departure from Rotterdam: Al Hoceïma (Morocco), Lisbon (Portugal), Bergerac (France), Venice (Italy), Valencia (Spain);
– On departure from Paris-Orly: Casablanca, Dakhla and Tangiers (Morocco), Beirut (Lebanon);
– On departure from Nantes: Agadir (Morocco), Faro (Portugal), Berlin (Germany), Algiers (Algeria);
– On departure from Amsterdam: Belgrade (Serbia), Helsinki (Finland), Katowice (Poland), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Munich (Germany), Sofia (Bulgaria), Zurich (Switzerland), Olbia (Italy);
– On departure from Lyon: Oujda (Morocco).

For the 2017-2018 winter season, the group’s low-cost airline will serve a total of 106 destinations in 33 countries operated with its 70 Boeing 737.

Partnerships

Air France-KLM is constantly building new alliances to offer its customers the best network opportunities and easier connections on all continents.

For the 2017-2018 winter season, the group will offer a wider choice of destinations and connections for passengers travelling between India and Europe via Paris and Amsterdam thanks to the extension of existing code-share agreements with Jet Airways.

The joint venture between Air France-KLM, Alitalia and Delta Air Lines will provide customers with access to more than 270 destinations beyond 27 North American cities and offers more than 215 destinations beyond the 30 European gateways.

To maintain its position as European leader in terms of capacity from Europe to China, Air France-KLM will continue its strategic joint venture with China Eastern from the main hubs at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol to Shanghai, while maintaining its agreements with China Southern and Xiamen Airlines.

The signing of a new joint venture between Air France and Vietnam Airlines, partners since 2010, will soon enable customers to benefit from a combined offer as well as improved and enhanced connections thanks to adapted flight schedules to and from Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Hanoi-Noi Bai and Ho Chi Minh City-Tan Son Nhat.

With its partner GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, customers of the Air France-KLM group will benefit from 50 Brazilian destinations.

The partnership between KLM and Kenya Airways will provide customers with access to a vast network to East Africa and several connecting opportunities from Nairobi. The two partners will continue to develop their code-share network, among others with the addition of KLM’s code-share to the new destination Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe), operated by Kenya Airways.

Fleet

The Group continues to upgrade its fleet and improve its products and services with the arrival of 15 new Boeing 787s in its fleet by the end of the winter season.

Ten aircraft operated by KLM will serve 18 destinations, partially or fully operating routes to Dubai (Emirates), Mauritius, San Francisco (USA), New York (USA), Washington (USA), Minneapolis (USA), Calgary (Canada), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Bogota (Colombia), Cartagena (Colombia), San José (Costa Rica), Osaka (Japan), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Mumbai (India), Beijing, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Chengdu and Shanghai (China).

Five aircraft operated by Air France will serve 7 long-haul destinations: Cairo (Egypt), Toronto (Canada), Boston (United States), Panama City (Panama), Sao Paulo (Brazil) and Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) as a continuation of Bamako (Mali).

By the end of the winter season, Air France will be operating 49 Boeing aircraft equipped with its latest travel cabins on its long-haul network, 19 Boeing 777-300 and 25 Boeing 777-200, representing the entire Boeing 777-200 fleet, as well as 5 Boeing 787.

At the end of the 2017-2018 season, KLM’s entire Boeing 747 (12 aircraft), Boeing 777 (30 aircraft) and Boeing 787 (11 aircraft) fleet, representing 53 aircraft, will be equipped with the latest World Business Class cabins.

Air Transat Increases Service To The U.K., France And Mediterranean Destinations

Air Transat is increasing its number of direct flights to the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Croatia, the Netherlands, Belgium and the Czech Republic.

The carrier will offer direct service to a total of 27 Europe destinations, accessible from many major Canadian cities via its feeder flights program. It is also giving customers even more flexibility by moving up the start dates of its flights by a few weeks, for those eager to go on a spring getaway, as well as extending the season further into fall.

“Air Transat has been proudly helping Canadians explore Europe for 30 years now, and in summer 2018 we’ll be giving even more of them the opportunity to do so, thanks notably to increased use of Airbus A330 aircraft on these routes,” explains Annick Guérard, President and General Manager, Transat Tours Canada.

“We’ve always made sure to present a varied transatlantic product offering for travelers so that they can easily plan the vacation of their dreams, and next year will be no exception: our 2018 portfolio is one of the most diversified on the market,” she adds.

Air Transat is strengthening supply to the United Kingdom and France, with several flights per week to a wide variety of cities. Moreover, passengers flying to Glasgow, Manchester, Amsterdam, Dublin, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Brussels, Lisbon, Malaga, Madrid, Prague, Rome, and Barcelona will benefit from increased use of Airbus A330 aircraft next spring, enjoying personalized inflight entertainment options on individual touchscreens, along with an exceptional in-flight experience thanks to attentive cabin-crew service. And with the multi-destination flight option, travelers can land in one Europe city and take off from another, at no extra charge.

Air Transat’s enriched France program now includes return flights from Quebec City to Paris, four times weekly. Canada’s major metropolises are well served as well, with the following scheduled flights to Paris: Montreal (13 flights weekly), Toronto (five flights weekly) and Vancouver (three flights weekly).

Air Transat is maintaining its position as the holiday travel leader on the French market: once again offering direct flights from Montreal to major cities in France including Marseille (five direct flights weekly), Lyon (four direct flights weekly) and Toulouse (three direct flights weekly), along with Nantes, Bordeaux and Nice (two direct flights weekly to each city).

The United Kingdom, a popular destination for many Canadians, will also be within easy reach from Toronto, with direct flights London (nine per week), Glasgow and Manchester (five weekly flights to each city) and Birmingham (once a week). The British capital will be accessible via Montreal as well, with three flights weekly.

For Canadians looking to explore Central Europe, Air Transat will maintain its Toronto–Zagreb and Montreal–Prague city pairs, with twice-weekly flights. And following a hugely successful summer 2017 launch, service to Tel Aviv will continue as well, with two direct flights per week from Montreal, enriched by a weekly feeder flight out of Toronto.

Air France-KLM Signs Codeshare Agreement with Singapore Airlines and SilkAir

Air France-KLM has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Singapore Airlines and regional subsidiary SilkAir to codeshare on each other’s flights as of April 27, 2017.

Air France will add its ‘AF’ designator code to Singapore Airlines-operated flights beyond Singapore to Melbourne and Sydney, as well as on SilkAir-operated flights to Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Phuket. On a reciprocal basis, Singapore Airlines will add its ‘SQ’ designator code to Air France-operated flights beyond Paris-Charles de Gaulle to 10 destinations: Aberdeen, Bordeaux, Edinburgh, Lisbon, Lyon, Madrid, Marseille, Newcastle, Nice and Toulouse.

Airlines will be able to offer their customers seamless transfers on their shared routes with only one booking and a one-stop luggage check-in through to their final destination.

Air France and Singapore Airlines will later on explore the opportunity to expand the codeshare to other airlines within their respective groups. The agreement is intended to provide customers more options and seamless connectivity when travelling between Europe, South East Asia and Australia.

Patrick Roux, Senior Vice-President Alliances of Air France-KLM group said:

“This new agreement is excellent news for our airline and for our customers. It will significantly improve the connections for Air France customers from Singapore to Australia. This kind of partnership is part of our aim to expand our market position and increase our range of destinations for our customers all around the world.”

Mr. Tan Kai Ping, Singapore Airlines Senior Vice President Marketing Planning, said:

“We are delighted with our new partnership with Air France-KLM, which offers significant benefits to customers through enhanced connections and increased codeshare destinations. In addition, this new agreement provides a strong foundation for future commercial co-operation opportunities between our two airline groups. It is also another example of our commitment to the Singapore hub and the European market.”

easyJet signs three year French tourism partnership deal with Atout France

easyJet has today announced it has signed a long-term partnership deal with Atout France, the French Tourism Development Agency, which will see the airline become one of its main transport partners.

The airline will join forces with the tourism agency to promote tourism in Europe to France, starting with the UK.

The three-year partnership will launch this year with a multi-media advertising and experiential marketing campaign with a spend of around €1 million. The campaign will focus on promoting both the French capital, Paris, and also the Cote d’Azur including Nice and the surrounding region in the UK.

easyJet is the second largest airline in France, with almost 17 million passengers touching France in total, of which more than one million passengers fly between Paris and the UK every year. The airline is also the largest airline at Nice Airport carrying over three million passengers annually to and from the region with more than 220 flights per week.

The campaign, which will run from March onwards, will feature outdoor advertising as well as digital advertising, social media support and an experiential event for members of the public.

James Millett, easyJet’s Director of Digital and Marketing, commenting on the new partnership, said:

“France is such an important market and remains popular with our UK customers. This inspirational campaign will seek to show everything France has to offer from a city break in Paris to a holiday in the French Riviera.”

Gwenaelle Maret-Delos, Managing Director for Atout France in the UK, commented:

“Atout France is delighted to partner with easyJet for this campaign and together continue to welcome more than 10 million British tourists to France.”

easyJet is also working with Visit Britain to promote the UK to consumers in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal through a multi-media advertising and marketing campaign.

Air France and Air Seychelles to codeshare

Air France and Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles today signed a landmark codeshare agreement to provide travellers with enhanced connections between France, wider Europe and Seychelles.

The agreement was signed between Roy Kinnear, Chief Executive Officer of Air Seychelles and Frédéric Gagey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air France, and follows the establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two airlines in April 2015.

The partnership will see Air Seychelles place its “HM” flight code on Air France’s domestic flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and six of the largest cities in France: Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nice and Toulouse.

In addition, the “HM” code will appear on Air France’s European services between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Athens, Berlin, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Manchester, Munich and Zurich. Altogether, Air Seychelles will codeshare on 157 weekly domestic and regional flights.

This, combined with its codeshare service over Abu Dhabi with its partner Etihad Airways, provides unparalleled global access to the Seychelles.

Air France will, in turn, codeshare on Air Seychelles’ three-per-week non-stop service between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Seychelles, and on domestic flights between Mahé and Praslin, the second-biggest island in the archipelago and the home of the famous Vallée de Mai nature reserve. In total, the French flag carrier will see its “AF” code appear on 18 weekly flights operated by Air Seychelles.

Air Seychelles commenced a three-per-week, non-stop service between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Seychelles in July 2015, replacing a twice-weekly service via Abu Dhabi since July 2014. The flights are operated on an Airbus A330-200 aircraft in a twin-cabin configuration, with 18 Business Class and 236 Economy Class seats.

Codeshare flights can be booked from 19 August, for travel as from 21 August 2015.

Joël Morgan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Transport and Chairman of Air Seychelles, said: “This agreement is the start of a fresh chapter of cooperation not only between Air Seychelles and Air France, but between our two countries, which have deep-rooted cultural, economic and historical connections.

“It comes in the wake of a bilateral meeting in December 2014 between President James Michel and President François Hollande, who agreed that enhanced air access was essential to moving our relationship forward. We have achieved this by launching non-stop flights to Paris and through this exciting new partnership with Air France. 

“The Seychelles economy is strongly driven by the tourism industry, and France, along with Germany Italy and the UK, represents a very important market. In the first half of 2015 alone, some 18,653 travellers from France visited our paradisiacal islands, 10 per cent more compared to the same period last year. We are confident that, through the new air links we now offer on our combined network with Air France, this growth will continue.”

Mr Gagey said: “Air France welcomes this partnership with Air Seychelles, which provides our customers with new travel opportunities to the popular island group and underlines our commitment to strengthening air connectivity in the Indian Ocean region.

“We look forward to building on this agreement to provide our customers with even more travel benefits, and at the same time strengthening our respective business operations.”

Mr Kinnear added: “We are pleased to sign this major codeshare agreement with Air France, who we consider a valued partner in our network development strategy for France and neighbouring Europe.“We look forward to strengthening our cooperation in subsequent phases, through lounge access and cargo cooperation. Two-way trade between Seychelles and France totalled USD $229 million in 2014, and with 60 tonnes of weekly bellyhold capacity on our Paris-Charles de Gaulle service, there are opportunities for growth.”

Volotea Reinforces Its Capital Structure to Support Continued Growth

Volotea announced that it has completed the process of strengthening its shareholder base, adding five new preeminent investors to help enhance the company’s business strategy and continued growth.

Five different private equity firms and family offices based in the United States (including Elysium LLC and HRS Management) and Europe (including Meridia Capital, Rijn Capital and Rocinante) are joining Axis Participaciones Empresariales as equity investors in Volotea. Volotea’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer Carlos Muñoz, as well as its core management team, are increasing their investment in the company, reaffirming a strong commitment to the airline’s long-term growth.

The new shareholders replace CCMP and Corpfin, who played a key role in launching Volotea in 2011 and supported the expansion of the airline’s network, which now extends to 78 cities. The new investor group will back the continued growth and expansion of Volotea, which has been self-financing since 2014.

“Today we have reached a significant milestone in Volotea’s young life. We are excited to bring in new strong, prestigious and long-term shareholders to help fund the company’s strategy and huge growth potential, as it seeks to further connect all of Europe’s mid-and-small-sized cities. We also thank CCMP and Corpfin for their very valuable support of the company in all these years,” said Volotea Founder and CEO Carlos Muñoz.

Volotea was advised by Morgan Stanley and Pérez-Llorca in this transaction.

Volotea has carried 15 million passengers since its first flight in 2012, and over 4.8 million in 2017 alone. In 2018, Volotea has opened 58 new routes to serve a lineup of 293 routes, operating flights to 78 mid and small-sized European cities in 13 countries: France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Greece, Croatia, Czech Republic, Albania, Portugal, Malta, Austria, Ireland and Luxembourg. The airline expects to carry between 5.7 and 6 million passengers in 2018. Volotea currently operates from twelve bases: Venice, Nantes, Bordeaux, Palermo, Strasbourg, Asturias, Verona, Toulouse, Genoa, Bilbao, Marseille and Athens. These last three have been inaugurated recently in 2018.

Volotea currently employs 875 people, and plans on creating 250 new jobs in 2018 to capitalize on its growth in activity. In 2018, Volotea operates its network with 32 aircraft, Boeing 717s and Airbus A319s. The Airbus A319 is the aircraft model selected for Volotea’s future growth, allowing the company to increase its passenger capacity by 20% up to 150 seats, as well as serving longer routes.