Bad news for the Bearn ecosystem. Transavia has decided to suspend its connection between Paris-Orly and Pau from 26 October. The low-cost company justifies itself by citing a lack of customers.
“Despite programme and timetable adjustments and a proactive pricing policy in the face of competition from the Orly-Tarbes route, the level of demand on the Paris-Orly-Pau route remains insufficient to ensure the economic equilibrium and sustainability of the route,” explains the low-cost subsidiary of Air France to our colleagues at Actu Paris.
According to France Bleu, 300,000 passengers who took this route had Covid, and that number will be less than 90,000 in 2024. Transavia has therefore reduced the number of its flights to seven per week, compared to the previous 12.
“Risk of new closure”
Air France will continue to operate the connection with four daily flights from Roissy, but not at the same price. It is also possible to reach the south-western town by TGV with a direct journey of about four hours from Montparnasse station. A journey considered too long by many professionals.
This is obviously bad news for the economic fabric of the region. “There is a real risk of a new enclave,” Nicolas Patriarche, president of the joint union that owns Pau Pyrénées airport, told Sud-Ouest.
For his part, François Bayrou, mayor and president of the Pau agglomeration, is furious: “I do not accept this announcement. I expect us to fight with all our might. It is completely scandalous, because Air France is a national company that benefited from more than 10 billion euros of state resources during the health crisis, has territorial planning obligations and does not respect them. I am sure that many local elected officials in France will share this indignation. This fight.”
Source: BFM TV
