The brutal stunts at Aigle Azur and XL Airways reveal the fragility of Europe's air transport sector, where the most vulnerable airlines are facing a merciless price war.

XL Airways asked Thursday, September 19 for its placement in receivership, three weeks after Aigle Azur, currently in liquidation. In 18 months, at least a dozen companies have dropped the curtain in Europe, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Among them, the Germania Germania in February, the Icelandic WOW Air in March, the Danish Primera Air and the Cypriot Cobalt Air in2018. In Germany, Air Berlin was absorbed by Eurowings, Lufthansa's low-cost airline. In Italy, Alitalia is in great difficulty and is still waiting for a buyer.

Poor choice and multiplication of low-cost long-haul

Aigle Azur, born in 1946, specializing in links with Algeria and serving the Mediterranean basin, has been the victim, according to experts, of both unfortunate strategic choices, with the opening two years ago of lines to Beijing and Sao Paulo, and devastating effects for his image of a ubiquitous pass of arms this summer between shareholders.

The low-cost company XL Airways was in "a situation became extremely difficult," having conducted unsuccessfully since 2018 discussions with several potential buyers, she said. In Paris, she found herself in front-line competition with low-cost long-haul flights, particularly in the United States.

Companies facing taxes and a very competitive market

Laurent Magnin, his boss, denounced a "unbridled international competition" and questioned a "structural problem of costs [in France], social charges that are out of the ordinary compared to the rest of the world", saying that "the situation of French companies were mostly in deficit ".

For Chris Goater, spokesman for IATA, airlines in Europe are facing a work environment "unfortunately not easy". The market is "very competitive (...) We have a lot of companies" with "high [operating] costs," he told AFP citing the weight of the strikes, the cost of airport taxes , payroll taxes, air traffic control and environmental taxes.

Added to these elements is the uncertainty linked to the volatility of kerosene prices, the cost of which represents between 15 and 35% of the full cost price of a flight.

In June, the director general of the Iata, Alexandre de Juniac, already noted "a more tense situation" with disappearances of companies, "especially in the low-cost sector in Europe", asking "if there had room for as many actors who had ordered as many planes. "

Some 30 companies are listed in France, with Air France and its subsidiaries (64 million passengers carried at the end of 2018) in pole position, followed by Air Corsica (1,981 million) and Aigle Azur (1,915 million). XL Airways ranks ninth with 730,000 passengers.

With AFP