British Airways has agreed to buy French airline L’Avion and integrate the company with its newly launched subsidiary OpenSkies.

OpenSkies recently launched daily flights between Paris Orly Airport and New York John F. Kennedy Airport. L’Avion operates two Boeing 757 aircraft between Paris Orly and Newark Airport. The combined airline will operate up to three daily flights between Paris Orly and the New York area using Boeing 757 aircraft.

The value of the acquisition is Euro 68 million, which covers the purchase of the airline and Euro 33 million of cash in its business.

“L’Avion has built a fantastic business offering high-value premium service that has inspired tremendous customer loyalty on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Dale Moss, Managing Director of OpenSkies. “Together, we share common values and a deep commitment to safety, innovation and customer service. L’Avion will provide OpenSkies with immediate scale, increased access to Paris Orly and an experienced, talented employee base. This is a combination of two companies that are focused on bringing comfort and personalization to transatlantic travel.”

“We are thrilled about this agreement, which brings together two like-minded airlines with complimentary business models and a focus on low costs and high value to create a premium transatlantic carrier,” said Marc Rochet, Chief Executive Officer of L’Avion. “We look forward to being a part of the high-quality customer experience that will become synonymous with OpenSkies, all backed by the vision of British Airways.”

Once the two airlines are integrated, customers can expect to experience benefits that will further improve the Paris – New York offering, including an increased schedule and BA Executive Club privileges. OpenSkies and L’Avion currently operate a codeshare with L’Avion selling seats on OpenSkies flights.

L’Avion has accommodated more than 65,000 customers since its start on January 3rd, 2007. The airline has experienced steadily increasing load factors since launch and consistently outperformed its business plan objectives.

L'Avion started in January 2007 and has transported 65,000 passengers. The acquisition price includes l'Avion's cash reserves of 33 million euros.

L'Avion was founded by pilot Frantz Yvelin and Marc Rochet, CEO who formerly ran Air Liberte.

 

2nd July 2008

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