Virgin and French shipping group CMA CGM are interested in taking over assets of failed Air Lib to set up a new carrier in France operating from Paris Orly airport.
Virgin Group head Richard Branson, Virgin Express managing director Neil Burrows and CMACGM head Jacques Saade met French transport ministry officials in Paris in mid-March to discuss their interest in buying enough Air Lib assets, and hiring enough Air Lib staff to develop a new airline.
Virgin says it was approached by CMA CGM, which is the largest container shipping line in France with 120 vessels and a turnover of €2.4 billion ($2.6 billion) in 2002, and the two have signed a memorandum of understanding to work together on a joint bid. Although Branson has said he is interested in low-cost and long-haul operations in France, the Virgin bid is being led by Brussels-based low-cost Virgin Express.
After the first ministry meeting, Branson told reporters: "We are just exploring whether we can save as much of Air Lib as possible and save as many jobs as possible, and use the Virgin brand to bring some competition in the airline industry in France."
Virgin notes that CMACGM has extensive experience in turning around troubled businesses, having acquired and re-structured a state-owned shipping line in France. CMACGM says the collapse of Air Lib offers it the opportunity to diversify into a new transport arena, emulating other large shipping groups like Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk that all have airline subsidiaries.
Other carriers interested in launching routes with some of Air Lib's 48,000 annual slots at Orly are easyJet and French charter carrier Aeris. COHOR, the Paris slot allocation authority, is not expected to begin giving slots out until April at the earliest.
Air Lib, formed from the merger of Air Liberte and AOM, went bankrupt in February with the loss of 3,200 jobs.
MARK PILLING LONDON
Source: Airline Business
