French independent airline AOM has signed a codesharing agreement with TAP Air Portugal under which the two carriers will jointly develop routes to cities in the south of France, Portugal, LatinAmerica and the Caribbean.
The deal follows last year's agreement with Swissair, which AOM business director Jean-Marc Janaillac admits has been delayed by a month, and will now to take effect "in late March-we have encountered some technical problems implementing the codesharing arrangements".
AOM is to open a route between Swissair hub Zurich and Paris Orly using three leased Boeing 737-500s. Its existing Boeing MD-83s are "too big", says Janaillac, adding that the Boeings are also needed "to develop our charter business".
The Zurich route will be opened on 27 April, with three services daily. The summer 1998 season will see frequency increases on several other routes, mainly to the Caribbean, but also on domestic routes between Paris and Nice, Marseille, Toulon and Perpignan.
Passenger growth for 1997 stood at 27% for AOM's long-range routes and 14.5% for medium range services, while overall capacity increased by 9%.
Source: Flight International
