From: AIRWISE-NEWS – News - Archive

Good Summer In Prospect At Air Liberté Apr 5, 1999 Air Liberté's head Marc Rochet told French radio station Radio Classique April 2 that the carrier was looking forward to a good summer. Air Liberté is a subsidiary of . "February was good, March was excellent. So it seems there is currently a strong recovery for our business and I think the summer looks like being very good for all companies," M. Rochet said. "It's very good in in general, fairly sustained in the United States and over the north Atlantic," he added. Mr Rochet called on the French government to allow more flights at 's , which is increasingly being used as 's main domestic hub, while international flights are moving to Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport. "We could handle five million more passengers a year at Orly today, without any environmental problems," he said. The extra traffic would mean 40 to 100 more flights per day, depending on aircraft size. M. Rochet pointed out that a ban on night flights had reduced complaints about noise. The government has capped air traffic at Orly at 250,000 take-offs and landings a year, in response to residents' demands. But M. Rochet said modern aircraft were much quieter. Orly handled 370,000 take-offs and landings a year when the much noiser Caravelle and Boeing 707 airliners were flying, he said.

Air Liberté Joins Europe By Air Jun 18, 1999 It was announced June 17 that French carrier Air Liberté has joined the Europe by Air pass program. Air Liberté's route system adds 32 new French cities to the program and increases the number of participating airlines to 17. There are now 115 European city destinations available at USD$99 per flight plus tax. From its base at Paris Orly Airport, the major cities served by Air Liberte include Bordeaux, , Toulouse, La Rochelle, Montpellier, , and for St. Tropez. It also offers "alternative airport" service for other destinations such as Annecy in the French Alps (40 miles from Geneva), (100 miles away from Barcelona) and border gateways to Germany and the Black Forest at and Metz/Nancy. Other French cities valid for Europe by Air passengers at USD$99 per segment plus tax are Agen, Aurillac, Bergerac, Brest, Brive, Caen, Clermont-Ferrand, Epinal, Lannion, , , , Mulhouse, Perigueux, Poitiers, Rennes, Roanne, Rodez, and Figari in Corsica. From Nice, Europe by Air travelers can connect with Virgin Express to its hub in Brussels or Portugalia to their Lisbon hub. In Paris, Europe by Air passengers can fly to Debonair's hub in London. "Once passengers get to any of the member hubs the network stretches from Ireland to Moscow to Greece to the Iberian Peninsula," said Bill Wolf, Europe by Air President. Air Liberté, in business since 1987, operates a fleet of 42 aircraft including DC10, MD83, Fokker jets and . Air Liberté, partially owned by British Airways, operates 2,000 flights per week, and as many as nine flights per day between Paris and Nice. Europe by Air Passes are sold in countries outside of Europe only and are not available for sale to European residents. Each Pass costs USD$99 each plus tax

1 subject to a minimum purchase of three tickets, is non-refundable and is valid for 120 days. Airline members include AB Airlines, Air Greece, Air One, AlpiEagles, Augsburg, CityJet, Croatian, Debonair, Estonian, Icelandair, LTU/RAS, PGA Portugalia, Spanair, Trans Travel, Virgin Express, VLM and now Air Liberté.

Air Liberté Joins Europe Pass Program Jul 16, 1999 French carrier Air Liberté is the latest airline to join the Europe by Air pass program. Available to non-European residents only, the pass which costs USD$99 plus tax, gives access to major business and vacation destinations throughout Europe. The passes offer unlimited travel in Europe for 120 days subject to a minimum purchase of three tickets which are non-refundable. Air Liberté, part-owned by British Airways, is based at Paris Orly airport and flies to 32 French cities. Other members of the Europe by Air program include Air Bristol, Air Greece, Air One, AlpiEagles Airlines, Augsburg Airlines, CityJet, Croatian, Estonian Airlines, Icelandair, PGA Portugalia, Spanair, Virgin Express and VLM.

Strike To Disrupt French Air Traffic October 11 & 12 Oct 9, 1999 Air traffic in France is expected to face considerable disruption Monday October 11 and Tuesday October 12 resulting from a two day strike by pilots and cabin crew on French airlines. said it would mean the airline would be operating only a half to two-thirds of its usual schedule. In a statement, Air France apologized for having to re-accommodate some passengers onto new flights saying that it was due to events beyond Air France's control. French national aviation unions have called the two-day strike to protest the proposals on implementing the French government's mandated change to a 35- hour work week. "We are very sorry for any inconveniences to passengers who have been re- accommodated on other flights," said Jean-Louis Pinson, vice president and general manager for Air France in the U.S. "We are working hard to get our passengers to their destinations as soon as possible." Passengers on the following arriving and departing Air France flights for Monday, October 11, 1999 are being re-accommodated, all other Air France US flights are scheduled to operate, the airline said. Atlanta AF300/307 Boston AF322/321 Chicago AF050/055 Houston AF036/033 AF062/061 and AF068/069 Miami AF090/095 Newark AF004/003 Washington AF026/027 The statement said that negotiations were continuing to stop the strike from spilling over into Tuesday and that an announcement would be made later. For latest information check the Air France web site at http://www.airfrance.com or call your travel agent or Air France Reservations at 800-237-2747.

2 Air Liberte, the British Airways subsidiary based at Paris-Orly, said it was forecasting only minor disruption. In a statement, the carrier said it expected to maintain all long-haul flights to the West Indies and the Indian Ocean and around 75 percent of its domestic schedule to Nice, Montpellier, Perpignan, Toulouse, Bordeaux and Toulon. Air Liberte’s regional French network would not be affected, the statement added. Next week's strike follows a protest October 7 by ground staff at the two main Paris airports over the same issue. That strike did not involve pilots and flight attendants but slowed air traffic and closed off one of two runways at Orly airport and one of three runways at Charles de Gaulle airport causing delays of up to one hour. By January 1, 2000, French companies with more than 20 employees will be required by law to implement a 35-hour work week. The government passed a law last year that encourages companies to sign on to the plan ahead of schedule by giving them tax breaks. AOM French Airlines said it would issue a statement on the impact of the strike on their flight programs later.

Swissair Eyes Liberté Mar 3, 2000 is reported to be in talks with British Airways about the future of Air Liberté, the UK airline's unprofitable French unit. A report in Le Figaro newspaper said the Swiss carrier, which already has stakes in French airlines AOM and SA, is discussing a figure for Air Liberté of about 539 million French francs. Swissair declined to comment further on the report, which said it could merge its French holdings and include them in its alliance of regional airlines. "If you have an alliance, if you are working in several markets, you try to have synergies," said a spokesman for Swissair, which owns 49 per cent of AOM and 44 per cent of Air Littoral. BA has declined to confirm that it is close to selling Air Liberté, which has been unprofitable since the UK carrier bought 84 per cent of it in 1993. The disposal of Air Liberté would make sense for the UK carrier, Europe's biggest, as it focuses elsewhere to get back to profit. Swissair may have to compete with Air France for Air Liberté, which would help the flagship French carrier to boost the number of its takeoff and landing slots at Paris's Orly airport to two-thirds from 43 per cent, Le Figaro said.

BA Sells Stake In Air Liberte May 5, 2000 British Airways has stepped back from the French domestic market by selling its controlling stake in Air Liberte. Competition from high speed trains is one of the reasons given for the sale. BA's will receive around FFr 457 million (GBP£40 million) in cash for its 86 per cent holding in the airline from European financial institution Taitbout Antibes BV. The French carrier was acquired by BA three years ago. Air Liberte will continue to operate BA services between the UK and France - between London Heathrow and Paris Orly and on routes from London Gatwick to Bordeaux and Toulouse.

3 BA Chairman Lord Marshall said: "Since British Airways initial entry into the French domestic airline market in 1993 competition has intensified significantly, both in the air and on the ground from high speed trains. "Despite the great efforts of the management teams and employees Air Liberte and, before it TAT European Airlines, have not delivered an adequate return for BA shareholders. We have explored every option for resolving the matter and the sale to Taitbout represents the best way forward." Alain Blanc-Brude, President du Directoire of Taitbout's parent company Groupe Alpha, said: "Together with our existing businesses, AOM and Air Littoral, the acquisition of Air Liberte creates the possibility for us to build a strong second force in the French airline market." Air Liberte operates a fleet of three DC10s, used on routes to the French Caribbean and Reunion, ten MD83s and 11 Fokker 100s which serve its French domestic network from Paris Orly. It also has 20 smaller aircraft used mainly on French regional routes. The airline employs 2,500 people.

Swissair Group To Merge French Airlines Feb 8, 2001 Swissair parent SAirGroup is to merge two of its French airlines and leave a third to run independently, as the company reconsiders its unprofitable strategy of operating small European carriers. AOM will take control of Air Liberte and the combined carrier will be run under Air Liberte's brand. Air Littoral will maintain its own brand and network. SAirGroup had planned to merge all three. SAirGroup has sought to build an alliance by investing in smaller airlines, though they have proved to be unprofitable and losses have mounted. Analysts say the three French units may have lost as much as USD$300 million last year, almost three times the amount SAirGroup had forecast. Paul Reutlinger, the executive in charge of merging the carriers, quit over the weekend. "We want to reach a decision by March 12 on our alliance strategy and to appoint someone to replace Reutlinger by the end of February," a spokesman said. SAirGroup owns 100 per cent of Swissair and 69 per cent of Basel, - based Crossair. It also owns 49 per cent of AOM and Air Littoral and, through investment partner Taitbout Antibes BV, controls 86 per cent of Air Liberte. Stakes in nine other airlines include 49.9 per cent of German charter airline LTU Group GmbH and 49.5 per cent of Belgium's state controlled airline SA. The French carriers, which operate domestic routes, said yesterday they had decided against leasing three Airbus Industrie A319 aircraft. The decision was part of an effort to cut costs. The departure of Mr Reutlinger, a former Sabena chief executive, was the second resignation at SAirGroup in recent weeks as the company has begun rethinking strategy. SAirGroup chief executive resigned on January 23. Swiss newspaper Le Temps earlier quoted Gilles Nicoli, a labor representative at the French SAirGroup carriers, as saying that following Mr Bruggisser's resignation, "everything's been thrown into question". Mr Bruggisser quit following growing losses at SAirGroup's Qualiflyer alliance. He had faced criticism for building Qualiflyer around smaller, unprofitable European airlines and refusing to join a global grouping such as oneworld, led by British

4 Airways and American Airlines or the Star Alliance, led by and United Airlines. SAirLines, the company's airline division, saw a loss of 155 million Swiss francs in the first half. That slashed SAirGroup's first-half net income 97 per cent to 3 million francs from 87 million in the same period a year earlier. Full-year earnings will be reported March 12.

Plan To Revive French Airlines May 22, 2001 Marc Rochet, chairman of the French AOM and Air Liberte airlines yesterday unveiled a restructuring plan aimed at returning the French group to profitability. M. Rochet said more than 1,300 jobs, nearly a third of the total, would be cut, while the aircraft fleet would be reduced by half to 27 jets. Acknowledging the difficulty on domestic routes of challenging both state-controlled Air France and the state-owned high-speed rail network, M. Rochet said Air Liberte would withdraw from routes where both are competitors. Flights to Bordeaux, and Montpellier will stop next month. For long haul routes - AOM flies to several of France's overseas territories - M. Rochet said management was asking Air France for a code-sharing agreement. Air France said it did not have details of the proposal and had no immediate comment. Mr Rochet's plan is to return the French airline group to a small operating profit by 2004 through sharp cost reductions. Last year, it made a net loss of FFr2.4 billion (USD$321m) before provisions for restructuring.

French Airline Strikes Threaten Disruption May 23, 2001 Strikes by workers at two French airlines were expected to cause severe delays and disruption today. Employees at the AOM and Air Liberte carriers were scheduled to strike in protest at plans to cut more than 1,300 jobs as part of a restructuring plan. All Air Liberte and AOM medium-haul flights to and from Paris Orly Airport have been canceled as well as all long-distance flights from Orly. Unions called the strike after Air Liberte AOM said Monday it was cutting more than 20 percent of its work force. Union officials have called for Wednesday's strike to be extended, threatening chaos ahead of a long holiday weekend in France. The operator, formed out of last year's union of primarily domestic carriers AOM and Air Liberte, recently announced a net loss of FFr2.4 billion (USD$321 million) for 2000.

Strike Hits French Long Haul Flights May 24, 2001 French carriers AOM/Air Liberte workers strike action yesterday resulted in the cancellation of the carrier's medium and long-haul flights. All long distance flights from Paris Orly Airport to Reunion and other overseas French territories were canceled, with flights not expected to recommence until midnight.

5 Services on some domestic routes were maintained, including flights from Orly to Metz, Annecy, Rodez and La Rochelle. Passengers affected by cancellations were either reimbursed or transferred to another carrier. The airline workers are protesting against staff cuts that are being introduced under a restructuring plan. Trade unions had called for the strike to be extended beyond Wednesday, threatening chaos ahead of Thursday's Ascension Day holiday. The strike was called to protest plans to cut 1,300 jobs as part of a restructuring plan for the cash-strapped airlines. The AOM-Air Liberte cuts, announced Monday, will reduce the work force of 6,000 people by more than 20 percent. The operator, formed out of last year's union of AOM and Air Liberte, which run primarily domestic routes, recently announced a net loss of FFr2.4 billion (USD$321 million) for 2000. The company has faced competition by rival Air France and a growing network of high-speed French trains.

French Airline Strike Eases May 25, 2001 Travel problems caused by striking workers at French Airlines AOM and Air Liberte eased today as staff returned to work after two days of disruption. Although 80 percent of flights were reported as back to normal services still affected by the strike, included routes between Paris and Bordeaux, Montpelier and Marseille. International flights to and were canceled. Employees of both airlines walked out on Wednesday to protest plans to cut 1,300 jobs as part of a restructuring. The layoffs represent more than 20 percent of the cash-strapped airlines' work force. The operator, formed out of last year's union of AOM and Air Liberte recently announced a net loss of FFr2.4 billion (USD$321 million) for 2000.

Airline Employees March On Airport Jun 13, 2001 Three thousand airline employees marched on runways at Paris Orly airport today, carrying out a threat to strike over a plan to eliminate hundreds of jobs at AOM and Air Liberte. The two companies' flights remained grounded Orly Airport, the capital's second- largest. Authorities from Aeroport de Paris, the company which operates Orly and Roissy Charles de Gaulle airports, said that traffic was moving normally out of the airport at midday, noting that "the demonstrators are walking through parking areas and not on actual takeoff runways." All told, some 30 flights were delayed by up to 30 minutes. Earlier in the day, demonstrators had marched on the airport's south runways, but they were not in use at the time. Police - greatly outnumbered - tried in vain to stop the protesters from advancing. At rush hour, police had to stop traffic along the national 7 highway, which leads to Orly, because protesters were on the road.

6 The protest has not affected other companies' flights, Aeroport de Paris authorities said.

French Airlines File For Bankruptcy Jun 15, 2001 The operator of French airlines AOM and Air Liberte has filed for bankruptcy because it could no longer carry on "in its current structure". Groupe AOM-Air Liberte said in a statement that it had initiated bankruptcy proceedings at a trade court in Creteil, near Paris. The statement said the group's chairman, Marc Rochet, had asked the court to appoint a receiver, who will try to come up with a restructuring plan for the companies, which serve mainly domestic routes. The two carriers will continue to function while a court-appointed receiver tries to settle the financial difficulties. "The company has, in the short-term, enough money to assure the continuation of its activity, notably for the traditional holiday departures at the end of June," the statement said. AOM and Air Liberte joined forces last year. The operator recently announced a net loss of 2.4 billion francs (USD$315 million) for 2000, and said that 1,328 jobs would be eliminated - 20 percent of its 6,000 workforce. The layoff announcement has prompted strikes and protests by worried staff. The group's top two shareholders are Marine-Wendel and the financially troubled Swissair Group. The fate of the French airlines is a particular blow to Swissair, which has a 49 percent stake in AOM-Air Liberte.

Fifteen Bids For Ailing French Airlines Jul 4, 2001 Fifteen bids have been received from groups interested in acquiring part or all of ailing French airlines AOM and Air Liberte which have filed for bankruptcy. The offers were registered at a commercial court, the airlines said in a statement yesterday. Bids had to be submitted by a Monday deadline. AOM and Air Liberte, which are owned by Swissair Group and French investment group Marine-Wendel, filed for bankruptcy at the beginning of June. A French court has given the airlines three months to find potential buyers for the group. Five bidders - either individuals or companies, such as property group Fidei - are interested in acquiring all of AOM and Air Liberte's assets, the airlines said. The 10 other bidders are interested in acquiring only parts of the businesses. This list includes Toulouse-based charter airline and ground services group Avia Partner. The bids will be presented in detail to employees at an extraordinary meeting today, the airlines said. Although they had expressed interest in buying AOM and Air Liberte, British investment group AITI Holdings, U.K.-based budget airline easyJet and French leisure group Nouvelles Frontieres Intl. did not file offers. AOM and Air Liberte's prize assets are the take-off and landing rights they hold at Orly, Paris' second largest airport, where slots are in demand because the facility has limited room to expand. The judges appointed by the commercial court are expected to review the bids and render their verdict in mid-July. In the absence of a serious offer, AOM and Air Liberte face the risk of liquidation.

7 The airlines joined forces last year but found their financial problems mounting as they battled growing competition from Air France and the high-speed trains of the state-run rail company, SNCF. The company announced a net loss of FFR2.4 billion (USD$321 million) for 2000, and said 1,328 jobs would be eliminated -- some 20 percent of its work force of 6,000. The layoff announcement prompted strikes and protests by worried staff. The problems at AOM and Air Liberte mark the end of Swissair's initial ambition to create a French-based carrier to rival Air France.

Swissair Bids For Bankrupt French Carrier Jul 24, 2001 Swissair is reportedly willing to provide up to 1.8 billion French francs to help rescue bankrupt airline AOM-Air Liberte. Swissair owns 49.5 percent of the French carrier, for which a commercial court handling the bankruptcy is now seeking a buyer. The contribution was announced last week by Swissair in the commercial court of Creteil, which had given potential buyers until today to sweeten their bids for the troubled airline. French Transport Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot said last Thursday that "the court has determined that there are two serious buyers for the totality" of the bankrupt carrier.

French Carrier Gets New Pilot Jul 30, 2001 Loss-making French regional carrier AOM-Air Liberte is to be taken over by a consortium led by an Air France pilot, a commercial court has decided. A bid from the Holco group, fronted by Jean-Charles Corbet, has been accepted. The news prompted the airline's present owners Swissair to say they were pleased with the court's decision. Chairman Mario Corti has been trying to distance the group from its French airline interests which have proved a financial strain and put Swissair under severe pressure. Holco's success could see up to 2000 of the AOM-Air Liberte workforce vanish under plans to reduce present numbers from 5000 to 3000. Other bidders were AOM-Air Liberte's current chairman Mark Rochet and a French real estate and land company, Fidei.

Air Liberte Opens Libyan Link Oct 8, 2002 Air Liberte is to open up a route to the Libyan capital , providing the only link to the North African country by a French airline. The carrier is to start twice weekly services from Paris Orly later this month. For ten years flights to Libya were banned by an international embargo imposed after the bombing of a Pan Am plane over Scotland in 1988. A former Libyan intelligence agent was convicted of the bombing.

8 Future Uncertain For Air Lib Jan 13, 2003 There was speculation today over the future of troubled French airline Air Lib. Dutch investment company IMCA called a press conference Monday at which it restated its willingness to invest EUR50 million (USD$52.7 million) in the carrier. However, a report in Le Figaro newspaper said the government had turned down the rescue plan at the weekend which could spell bankruptcy for the former subsidiary of failed SAir.

Air Lib Grounded After Talks Fail Feb 6, 2003 French carrier Air Lib has been grounded and its future looks bleak after a rescue deal with a Dutch investment group collapsed. The airline's operating license expired Wednesday, all flights have been halted and passengers are having to scramble to make alternative travel arrangements. Air Lib, the country's second largest airline, has been struggling to repay debts and was hoping to conclude a deal with investment group Imca. However, the Dutch company pulled out of the negotiations, blaming its failure to win price concessions on 29 new planes it wanted to buy from Airbus. The French government said it deplored the fact that negotiations could not be concluded despite all the efforts it had made for many months. Talks, it said, had gone on late on Wednesday to try and find a solution. Had a deal with Imca been agreed, the company was planning to repay the EUR120 million (USD$129.8 million) owed by the airline to the French government and the European Development Fund. The carrier was formerly known as Air Liberte and until 2001 was part of the failed Swissair group. It employs more than 3000 people and flew international and domestic services from Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports in Paris. It was thrown into crisis by the slump in air travel following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the US but now faces almost certain bankruptcy. The government and Air France are making arrangements to help stranded Air Lib passengers.

French Carrier Air Lib Collapses Feb 18, 2003 France's second largest airline, Air Lib, has been declared bankrupt and will be placed into liquidation a court has ruled. The carrier had hoped to be rescued from its problems by a Dutch investor but its chances of survival vanished when the company pulled out of negotiations and Air Lib's operator's licence expired. The collapse of the airline, which was once a subsidiary of failed Swissair, leaves its 3,200 staff without jobs. The carrier, which flew both international and domestic routes, has been struggling with growing financial problems for the past two years. There is now expected to be intense competition from rival airlines to acquire Air Lib's landing slots at Paris Orly Airport, among them UK low cost operator easyJet which is keen to build up a base at Orly.

9 Colombia's ACES Airline Liquidated Aug 21, 2003 Colombia's second largest airline ACES has been grounded after shareholders decided to put the carrier into liquidation. Alianza Summa, the umbrella organization for three of the country's carriers, said that Aerolineas Centrales de Colombia (ACES) routes will be covered by Avianca, and will not leave passengers stranded. Tickets and accumulated air miles will be honored. "Evidently, the circumstances of the world aviation crisis were too serious," said Juan Emilio Posada Echeverri, president of the Summa alliance. "Although everything was done to remedy the effects, the reality of the situation overwhelmed us." Medellin-based ACES' decision to liquidate is to cost 749 jobs, but over 500 staff will be employed with Alianza. The failed airline is owned by Colombia's Federation of Coffee Growers and the Valores Bavaria Group, but according to a media report they were not prepared to step in and rescue the carrier. In a joint statement the shareholders said that they were not able to put the airline into bankruptcy under Colombian law as most of its debtors were in other countries. Since Avianca, which is the country's , ACES and the SAM airline came together under Alianza Summa 18 months ago, Avianca itself has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States. However, that option was not open to ACES. The operations at Avianca and SAM are not affected by the ACES liquidation and they will continue to fly. ACES flies scheduled regional, domestic and international routes serving 37 destinations.

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