Air Liberté has revealed major changes to its route structure as part of its plan to avoid bankruptcy (Flight International, 2-8 October).
Routes between Paris Orly and Montpellier and Bordeaux-Nice will be suspended immediately, along with several international routes, including Toulouse-Dakar and Bordeaux-Abidjan.
Frequencies will also be cut, with a reduction by one a day on Orly-Toulouse now nine daily), Orly-Bordeaux (six daily) and Orly-Strasbourg (six).
Several options for the airline's survival have been mooted since the bankruptcy threat, and in an ironic twist they include a partial take-over by another French independent, AOM. As part of his expansion plans Air Liberté president Lotfi Belhassine had attempted earlier this year to take over AOM in a plan which was soundly rejected by the carrier.
While the idea would ensure that the valuable Paris airport slots now held by Air Liberté remain in French hands, sources point out that AOM is in financial difficulties, and question whether adding parts of Air Liberté would improve its competitiveness. AOM has already been forced to pull out of the code-sharing deal signed with Air Liberté in July on Paris Orly-Nice and Orly-Montpellier.
Source: Flight International
