On November 16, Olivier Dussopt, Minister of Public Accounts, declared that a merger between the airlines Air Australet Corsair was
"an option"
.
Marc Rochet, CEO of Air Caraïbes, is trying to interfere in these discussions.
"I am surprised that we were not called to this kind of consultation or debate"
, he regretted on BFM Business, Wednesday, December 29.
He does not
"necessarily seek to take control of Air Austral", he
assures us, but
"to say that it must be married to such and such a company, Corsair in this case, that seems to us to be prejudices"
.
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The three airlines serve the overseas departments and territories, with a specialty in the Indian Ocean and Réunion for Air Austral and the Antilles for Air Caraïbes and Corsair. They are having a hard time getting out of the Covid-19 crisis. Air Austral, which lost 76 million euros during the fiscal year ended in March 2021, is said to be at Ciri, the body which manages companies on the verge of filing for bankruptcy. And the latter seems to favor a marriage with Corsair, which does not earn more money, but has benefited from a recapitalization, with the entry of investors from the West Indies, and a loan guaranteed by the State (PGE ). Air Caraïbes is expected to lose the same amount this year as in 2020, i.e. 56 million euros.
But the Dubreuil family, majority shareholder, has just donated money to the company.
What to be able to invite in the recomposition of the sector.
"Let's put things on the table, work rationally, let everyone compare their performance, costs, constraints and maybe there are solutions to be found, especially in terms of commercial cooperation, that's why that we are open to it, ”
explains Marc Rochet.
For him,
"there will be a concentration at the end of this sequence: inevitably, companies will be forced to come together."
And he intends to participate.