Transavia France to enter domestic routes

Main pilots’ union SNPL at Transavia France (TO, Paris Orly) has agreed to the launch of the low-cost carrier’s domestic routes as its parent, Air France-KLM, seeks to address the permanent unprofitability of this market segment. “This agreement permits Transavia to operate routes within France, and adjusts pilot guarantees pertaining to European network activity in line with the levels of activity expected on the domestic network over the coming years,” the Franco-Dutch group said in a statement. Transavia France plans to announce the details of its new routes and the timeline for launch “shortly”. It currently does not operate any domestic flights in France. It said that it would operate these flights from Paris Orly in parallel to its growing European operations from the airport. However, the group revealed more details in its half-yearly earnings report. According to the plan, Air France (AF, Paris CDG) itself will continue to operate shuttle flights from Orly to Toulouse Blagnac, Nice, Marseilles, and Corsica, as well as an increased number of flights to French Overseas Territories and Departments (Cayenne, Pointe à Pitre, Fort de France, and St. Denis de la Réunion). Transavia would take over the remaining routes from Orly, including to Brest Guipavas, Biarritz, Pau, Perpignan, Montpellier, and Toulon. The group said that Transavia would also continue to expand from its bases at Nantes, Montpellier, and Lyon St. Exupéry. Out of Lyon, it will take over the most in-demand domestic routes to Nantes, Bordeaux, and Toulouse, while the remainder will be served by HOP! (A5, Paris Orly). The new agreement was backed by over 90% of the voting union members, with a turnout exceeding 82%. It is the second agreement with SNPL geared towards the growth of Transavia France after the union approved the expansion of the carrier’s fleet beyond forty B737s in July 2019. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, the French LCC currently still has forty B737-800s. It is operationally separate from Transavia Airlines (HV, Amsterdam Schiphol), which operates seven B737-700s and thirty-five -800s. Air France-KLM said that its domestic restructuring would also include the closure of all routes from Orly where an alternative train journey takes less than 2.5 hours. Air France plans to replace its A318-100s and A319-100s with A220-300s. The mainline and HOP! will continue to focus on growing operations out of Paris CDG.