Who can buy Air Antilles and Air Guyane?

2023-08-04 16:44:00

In liquidation, the two airlines have two months to find a buyer.

Par Thierry Vigoreux

An Air Antilles pilot who is regarding to land in Saint-Barth, May 8, 2023.
© RAPHAEL GOTHEIL / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP

Published on 04/08/2023 at 18:44

Ln July 14, 42 pilots from the National Union of Airline Pilots (SNPL) went on strike. The Cairo group, made up of the airlines Air Guyane Express and Air Antilles Express, as well as its owner, Éric Koury, filed with the Pointe-à-Pitre commercial court a request for suspension of payments and judicial liquidation of the company. ‘business. Wednesday, August 2, following three hours of hearing, the court placed the two companies in compulsory liquidation with continuation of activity of two months. This period is supposed to allow the receivers to find a buyer.

Flights have resumed, to the satisfaction of thousands of waiting passengers. During the strike, helicopter connections had to be organized to supply isolated Guyanese villages or allow the dozen inhabitants of Saul, stranded in Cayenne, to return home.

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Corsair shareholder

The ruler of Cairo, who belongs to a large Guadeloupean family, sees his name regularly cited in local court chronicles. He is also a shareholder of Corsair since the restructuring in 2021 of this company which remains in danger. It does not have the means to add to its debts another liability estimated at ten million euros.

Air Guyane, which serves isolated towns from Cayenne with state subsidies (public service delegation) has no competitor. It operates small Czech Let 410 aircraft with 19 seats, the size limit for not boarding a flight attendant. An agreement with Air France allows it to offer seats between Guyana and the West Indies on A320s, larger aircraft for long maritime overflights.
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A designated buyer for Air Antilles and its half-dozen ATR 42s or 72s would be its competitor Air Caraïbes, which has concentrated the activity of its three ATRs on the north-south axis Saint-Martin / Pointe-à-Pitre / Fort -de-France to be profitable. But the history of air transport in the West Indies does not go in this direction. When he created Air Caraïbes in 2000 by merging Air Guadeloupe, Air Martinique, Air Saint-Martin and Air Saint-Barth, Vendéen Jean-Paul Dubreuil rubbed shoulders with the Koury system and did not intend to start over. Air France, which is struggling to get rid of HOP in mainland France, is not intended to provide regional services outside of medium-haul in the Caribbean arc.

European rules do not allow an international company, American for example, to take an interest in French regional traffic. Remains as buyer a local non-air economic actor ready to sign a non-belligerence agreement with the Caribbean SNP. At what price ?

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