From Bordeaux, for the moment, no. Knowing that announcements are generally made at the last moment. In fact, we continue…

From Bordeaux, for the moment, no. Knowing that announcements are generally made at the last moment. In fact, we always continue the published destinations. The competition is studied closely. If an opportunity becomes available, on notice. Good opportunities should never be dismissed. Florence and Athens are currently our two new arrivals in Bordeaux. The long-term goal is to recover the traffic level of 2019, to more generally reopen lines that had been closed due to the health crisis. In 2019, there were 30 destinations departing from Mérignac. We are at 21 destinations this year. This makes Volotea the third company in Bordeaux after Ryanair and easyJet in terms of cities served.

What is your fill target for the upcoming summer season?

To have a minimum occupancy rate of 90%. This is the Volotea average. At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, in 2020, occupancy was 88%. We want to maintain this level with more planes and rotations of course. In 2020, our company offered 234,000 seats for Bordeaux. This year, the forecast reached 570,000 seats, which allowed an 80% recovery of traffic compared to the reference year 2019. Nationally, the supply is 5.5 million seats. Volotea is a Spanish company but France represents half of our operations. The other strong places being Italy, Greece and Spain.

Are you going to organize flights from the low cost Billi terminal which is due to reopen in the coming months?

It’s not planned. Volotea only operates its flights from hall A of the airport, this should not change.

What does the Bordeaux base weigh in terms of jobs?

A based aircraft generally represents around thirty direct jobs. In Bordeaux-Mérignac, we have two aircraft, i.e. 60 direct jobs, and more than double in indirect jobs: ground handling agents, maintenance, etc. Also, these are only local jobs. Bordeaux is historically our second French base. We opened it in 2013, one after Nantes.

Residents of Bordeaux-Mérignac airport often point to the responsibility of low-cost airlines for night flights and the nuisances they cause. How do you react to this?