« The price of oil has almost doubled “, declared Éric Michel, deputy general manager of the airline which, according to the Saint-Martin newspaper Le Pélican, made this economic decision reluctantly. ” Added to this is the dollar exchange. In our industry, all expenses are denominated in dollars: purchase of fuel, maintenance, purchase of planes… With the fall of the euro, our expenses cost us more “, he added.
According to Éric Michel, the company preferred the suspension of the line rather than an increase of at least 150 euros in the price of the ticket to find a balance, ” without being really profitable » and with the risk that the clientele does not follow. Éric Michel also pointed the finger at the Air France-KLM competition which has “ received 12 billion euros in aid from the French and Dutch states » while « Air Caraïbes is a private company with a single shareholder ».
Still according to Le Pélican, the Paris-Cuba line should also be suspended. For the time being, there is no date for a resumption of the Paris – Saint-Martin line, but the company does not rule out a return to the island if the global economic situation allows it. ” It’s always bad news for an airline to lose a network “, conceded Éric Michel who explains that the line to Saint-Martin “ was more or less in balance but by equalization, we decided to reduce the sail ».
