Corsair and Air Austral want to establish commercial cooperation by pooling their resources to serve the Indian Ocean, in order to improve their profitability, which has been undermined by the health crisis, the two French airlines announced on Tuesday.
"
This large-scale project will allow the deployment of an enhanced service offering for the benefit of passengers in the Indian Ocean, while improving the economic profitability of operations through the pooling of resources and the implementation of synergies
" , indicate the two companies in a joint press release.
Read also: Corsair begins a relaunch after his rescue
Based in Reunion, Air Austral serves Mauritius, the Comoros, Madagascar, the Seychelles, but also South Africa, Bangkok and South India.
Corsair has connections to Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion, Mauritius, Mayotte, Ivory Coast, Montreal and the Dominican Republic.
For flights to the Indian Ocean, the two companies intend to provide an "
enhanced flight program
", a "
wider and diversified choice
", better connections and a "
wider and more competitive fare offer
".
They also want to improve their freight offer.
This project, which according to them "
preserves the identity and independence of the two companies
", must still be submitted to the opinion of the employee representative bodies and to the French competition authority.
Dependent on long-haul routes, the most affected by the drop in global air traffic and traffic restrictions, the two companies have been put in difficulty by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read also: The State flies to the aid of Corsair to preserve the overseas territories
Corsair, the third French company after Air France and the companies of the Dubreuil group --Air Caraïbes and French Bee--, benefited at the end of December from a rescue plan involving the State and a consortium of investors who contributed 300 million 'euros. The company, which has cut 112 jobs, employs 970 people. Air Austral, which for its part received 120 million euros in aid in 2020, expects its cash flow to plunge to -41 million euros in February 2022, according to the Reunion Region which owns 73.5% of the capital. Corsair has a fleet of eight Airbus A330s, while Air Austral operates three Boeing B777s, two B787s and three A220s.
