Aigle Azur Announces Paris-Brazil & Paris - Beijing Routes for 3Q2018
The historical growth of a French air transport pioneerOn the occasion of a press conference held today in Paris Frantz Yvelin, the president ofAigle Azur, had the opportunity to make an initial assessment of his performance as chairman and presented the main strategic guidelines for the second largest French airline.
Frantz Yvelin framed this innovation package with the outlines of the pioneering spirit that has always distinguished Aigle Azur. Founded in 1946, with a strong presence in Asia and Africasince 1950, the expansion of this iconic air brand has been a superlative expression of the evolution in French commercial aviation.
Simultaneously, 2017 opened a new chapter with the arrival of a new shareholder, Mr. David Neeleman, on the occasion, sided by the groups HNA and Lu Azur.Counting more than 70 years of a strategy punctuated by remarkable milestones, the arrivalof Frantz Yvelin, as president - on the 10th of August - laid the groundwork for a renewedmomentum. Over these seven months, he was able to operate the company's recovery, reducing operating costs and leveraging productivity, while simultaneously consolidating andgarnering the backing of all employees and shareholders. Building on these solid foundations,he is now focused on implementing an ambitious growth strategy.Expansion of the historical network Aigle Azur reaffirms and strengthens its position as a leader in air transportation throughoutthe Mediterranean, staying true to its historic markets: Algeria, Mali and Senegal.
The year 2017 marked the beginning of a significant expansion of the Aigle Azur network: the launch of new routes to Beirut in the summer of 2017, Berlin on the 1st of December andMoscow on the 21st of December.Aigle Azur also includes a seasonal route between Marseille and Beirut, with two weekly flights(from June to September).Aigle Azur has designed the restructuring of its European medium-haul network aiming to abetter performance of the existing traffic. The company will open a new Orly-Milan daily flight from September 2018*, whereas the route to Berlin will become daily.The implementation of this new medium-haul strategy will also be followed by an expansion ofits long-haul network. Backed by its shareholders, Aigle Azur is set to reach new destinations:
June 21st will mark the beginning of a route to Beijing*, which will be provided by the Orly company at the rate of three weekly flights. In addition, on July 5th, Aigle Azur will launch anew Paris-Orly / S?o Paulo-Campinas* (Brazil) route, with 3 weekly flights, though though thesame route will be extended up to 5 flights per week, as of September 2018.
* Depending on the validation by the national authorities