“We are confident about the occupancy rate”: Volotea displays its ambitions for Rodez-Aveyron airport

The first passengers heading to Paris Orly took off a few hours late for the inaugural flight of the Volotea company. Press Center – Philippe Henry

Gilles Gosselin, the French manager of Volotea, present Monday, September 2 in Rodez for the inaugural flight to the capital, displayed the company's ambitions: to offer, by 2025, 178,000 seats for approximately 1,140 flights.

The inaugural flight of the Volotea company, that of Monday September 2 at 6:25 a.m., on its Rodez-Paris Orly route was disrupted by a technical incident on the A319 aircraft providing the connection but also by thick fog, according to the company's managers. A delay of several hours, for a take-off at around 12:20 p.m., which did not prevent Gilles Gosselin, the company's France manager, from congratulating himself on the opening of this 10th Volotea base in France.

Direct creation of 30 jobs 

A new base which means the“creation of 30 direct jobs at Rodez-Aveyron airport”, assures Gilles Gosselin. Jobs linked to the hiring of flight personnel – on Monday, a flight attendant from Rodez made her first flight on the line –, but also to the mechanical part. The Volotea company has also set up a space within the airport to store parts.

Offices and rest rooms for crews are now occupied by Volotea staff. With this new base, Volotea intends to continue its rise, after the opening of two other bases in Brest in April and in Bari (Italy) in July, added the company's France manager. “We are thus consolidating our presence in France, our leading market, with an offer of 7.5 million seats in 2024”. With two daily flights, from Monday to Friday and one flight on Sunday, the company plans to offer a total of 178,000 seats for around 1,140 flights by 2025.

New destinations to come

“We are confident about the occupancy rate," he explained. "We are counting on a rate of 90%, with a starting price of 49 euros, for an average price that is still difficult to define. We are very confident that we will meet this objective and the prices will remain affordable. And we intend to be able to promote Rodez airport well beyond that. Whether for businesses, tourists or families."

From Rodez, Gilles Gosselin also plans to offer other destinations, “as we have done on our other bases. We will be able to unveil new lines within two months, knowing that the heart of our destinations remains the Mediterranean basin, as we do with other European regional capitals”.

Public service delegations that are becoming more and more expensive

Twenty-seven million euros. The cost of the public service delegation (DSP) for a period of four years is significantly higher than the previous one, which amounted to 9.6 million euros. A significant increase, borne by the communities (55% by the Department, 22% for the Region, 22% for Rodez agglomeration and 1% for the CCI), but which can be explained, in particular, by “the fact that there are fewer companies applying for DSPs, so prices are increasing” confides Vincent Meneguetti, the airport director. “Costs have also exploded over the past few years. The traffic levels before the Covid-19 period have not yet been recovered. We are at around 80% of aircraft occupancy. And so, flying an aircraft costs more than before”.

An additional option for travellers from Rodez which will be complemented by the offer of the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair, whose destinations are rather oriented towards the north of Europe. For the moment, the first bookings from Rodez, on the planes of the Spanish airline, are rather "encouraging. And yet, we have not really communicated on the destination", explains Gilles Gosselin. "We are a major airline and with that, we have a significant communication force, we work with travel agencies, etc. The Rodez destination will thus be highlighted."

Attracting South Aveyron

The stakes are high for Rodez-Aveyron airport, which intends to increase its traffic by attracting, in particular, passengers from a much wider area such as Albi, Figeac or Millau, where "some may prefer Montpellier", as explained by Christian Tieulié, president of SAEML Air 12, the mixed economy company in charge of managing the airport. 

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