French charter operator Occitania has merged with rival Euralair International after both were taken over by aviation investor Angel Gate Aviation.
Occitania, which filed for bankruptcy protection in March, was last month acquired by Angel Gate, which took over Euralair's business aviation division in January. The new company is called Euralair-Occitania and the two companies' operations at Paris Le Bourget airport have been "fused", says general director Maurice Bernard. Angel Gate plans to drop the Occitania brand by the end of the year.
Euralair International's business aircraft fleet, consisting of two Cessna Citation IIs, has been merged with Occitania's fleet of one Citation I and three Dassault Falcon 50s. Lee says the company plans to acquire a Falcon 900 and more Falcon 50s as the European ad hoc charter business revives. "The Falcon 50s are perfect for our customers because many of them require access to London City airport," he says.
Before declaring bankruptcy, Occitania's previous owner, aircraft sales specialist R‚gourd Aviation, disposed of much of its fleet of airliners and cargo aircraft to focus on business aviation.
Source: Flight International
