The sale of slots, ie slots, available to the company in Orly could allow a potential competitor of Air France to win in the airport.
The oldest French airline, Aigle Azur, which serves in particular Algeria, is bankrupt. It carried only 2 million passengers last year.
It has been several years since the company, which employs 1,150 people, is losing money. It had tried to revive last year with the support of a powerful Chinese group and the owner of JetBlue, the American company. By placing itself in bankruptcy, Aigle Azur will be able to continue to ensure its flights - so do not panic for customers - and it gives itself time to find a buyer.
Everyone in the community is following this very closely. Why ? Because Aigle Azur, because of its ancient history, has something that we tear up, namely slots, slots, in Orly, the airport closest to Paris where traffic is capped. And that's gold. Clearly, a competitor of Air France could get their hands on Aigle Azur and use it as a Trojan.
This is the great fear of Air France: see happen on the rubble of this company a powerful competitor low cost. The scenario also worries the drivers. And for good reason: the previous direction of Aigle Azur had already thought of giving slots to the low cost Vueling. At the time, under the pressure of the pilot unions, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation had vetoed it. But now that Aigle Azur is in receivership, anything can happen. Air France had already created Transavia to counter easyJet in Roissy. This time, the stake is in Orly where Air France has a lot to lose.