- Eleven years after the company first arrived in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, Volotea is continuing to expand at Bordeaux Airport and planning a historic offering for the year ahead.
- With no less than 30 routes, the airline is planning a 20% increase in its seating capacity next year compared to 2023.
- Two destinations – Palermo and Verona – are being added, providing better connections for passengers in Bordeaux.
Volotea, the airline that connects European regional capitals, presents its results and ambitions in Bordeaux for 2024. Gilles Gosselin, the company’s Manager for France, took this opportunity to look back at how the airline has developed and become firmly established in the region.
A HISTORIC OFFERING IN BORDEAUX AND TWO NEW ROUTES TO ITALY IN 2024
On the strength of its results, Volotea is determined to build on its success with ambitious plans for 2024. The airline will be offering over 920,000 seats, i.e. a considerable increase of 600% compared to 2012, the year of its establishment, and 20% more than this year.
The airline will continue to play a central role in the region by connecting it to a total of 30 destinations in seven countries (France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Germany, Croatia and Algeria).
In addition to providing passengers at Bordeaux Airport with a rich and diversified offering, it now proposes two new Italian destinations:
- Palermo: travellers will be able to discover the capital of Sicily for a sunny weekend, starting from 12 April next year. This new connection will be available thanks to 21,000 seats and flights twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday.
- Verona: the ancient medieval city will be added from 13 April next year. This new route will run twice a week, on Wednesday and Saturday, offering 13,000 seats.
This announcement boosts the airline's Italian offering from Bordeaux, following the inauguration of Fiumicino and Naples this winter, and confirms Volotea's position as the third airline at Bordeaux airport in terms of destinations.
Next year, the airline will account for 60 direct jobs and nearly 340 indirect jobs, which proves its commitment to the local economy. During peak season, direct jobs increase by over 30%.
2023: VOLOTEA REINFORCES ITS GROWTH IN BORDEAUX
Since its launch in 2012, Volotea has seen continuous growth in Bordeaux with over 4.6 million passengers transported. This year, the airline offered over 770,000 seats, a significant increase of 50% compared to 2022. Volotea has boosted the region's connectivity via 28 routes, an offering that has doubled since the company first arrived.
With an average occupancy rate of 91% in the past five years, the airline once again demonstrates the relevance of its services and the confidence awarded by its passengers.
The 2023 summer season was also a success for the airline, which transported 350,000 passengers, up 36% on summer 2022.
"Bordeaux is a key region for Volotea. Out of 20 bases in Europe, it's our fourth in terms of passengers transported. We are delighted to announce these ambitious plans for the region and the launch of two new Italian services, starting in April 2024. Our aim is to continue to develop connectivity in Bordeaux in order to offer passengers in Nouvelle-Aquitaine an ever greater choice of destinations at competitive rates. We would also like to thank all stakeholders, and in particular Bordeaux Airport, for their collaboration and confidence for over 11 years, which enables us to continue to write our wonderful history in Bordeaux", stressed Gilles Gosselin, Volotea Manager for France.
"Volotea plays an important role in the travel offering from Bordeaux Airport. After celebrating its tenth anniversary at the airport last year, the airline continues to develop in a solid and confident manner, thus demonstrating its successful presence in the region. After reinforcing its range of services on the German market this summer, Volotea is consolidating its commitment to routes with high tourism and cultural values by opening these two new summer routes to Italy", stated Cyrielle Clément, Bordeaux Airport Route Development Manager.
VOLOTEA, LEADER IN DOMESTIC CONNECTIVITY IN FRANCE
Representing nearly 60% of its business, France is Volotea's biggest market, positioning the airline as a driving force in the French airline industry. With nine bases (Nantes, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Tarbes-Lourdes and Brest as of April 2024), the airline boasts excellent results and has forecast a historic offering by the end of 2023 with close to 6.6 million seats. As the leader on many domestic routes in France, Volotea proposes 255 routes, of which nearly half are exclusive and 61 domestic. For 2024, the airline will be selling its biggest offering in terms of capacity, with 13.5 million seats.
Nearly 10 years after it was founded, the airline has just celebrated the remarkable milestone of 55 million passengers transported, demonstrating its rapid growth and the relevance of its offering in France. These figures reflect the Volotea's ambition to boost the connectivity of the regions in which it is present and to play an important economic and social role in France by generating over 740 direct jobs and nearly 4,000 indirect jobs in 2024.
Additionally, Volotea was awarded the Skytrax World Airline Award for “Europe's Best Low-Cost Airline,” a prestigious recognition in the sector that reflects the excellent customer experience of the airline combined with competitive prices. Finally, the airline has a customer recommendation score of 90% and this summer recorded one of the best completion rates* (99.6%).
