Julian Moxon/PARIS
The president of AOM and Air Liberté, Alexandre Couvelaire, has given a strong indication that the two airlines will be merged with Air Littoral to create a major SAirGroup-led private sector competitor to Air France. The new operation would join SAir subsidiary Swissair's Qualiflyer alliance.
Together, the three airlines have a 30% share of the French domestic market, while Air Liberté‚ and AOM hold 30% of slots at Paris Orly Airport. Couvelaire says this means "numerous synergies can very quickly be put together".
A full merger would require regulatory approval, and initial plans centre on a "strategic regrouping" aimed at creating an immediate competitor to Air France. The three are controlled by two holding companies, but these will be merged into one, with SAir having a 49% stake and its partner Taitbout the rest. Taitbout purchased Air Liberté‚ from British Airways in May, paving the way for its consolidation with AOM and Air Littoral, in which Taitbout and SAir have stakes. SAir is limited in its own investments by Switzerland's non-membership of the European Union.
The new operation will have annual sales of Fr10 billion ($1.38 billion), 10 million annual passengers, 110 aircraft and 6,000 staff, with hubs at Paris and Nice, one of Montpellier-based Air Littoral's strongholds. It will operate longhaul, medium and regional routes with a fleet initially based on McDonnell Douglas DC-10s and Boeing MD-10s and MD-80s. In turnover terms, the merged company is a third the size of Air France.
AOM operates two Airbus A340-300s and, is due to take two more later this year. "Clearly we're looking hard at a complete modernisation of the fleet," says a source.
Source: Flight International
