As the transition date draws closer, Transavia France has shared new details about its organization following the takeover of Air France’s remaining domestic flights from Orly. The transfer will take place on March 29, with the start of the IATA summer season. During a press conference held on March 10, Olivier Mazzucchelli, CEO of Air France’s low-cost subsidiary, reiterated that Transavia France faces a dual challenge combining strong growth and fleet transformation.
This year’s growth will mainly be driven by the transfer of all Air France flights to its subsidiary. On March 29, Transavia France will take over routes to Nice, Toulouse, and Marseille from Orly, the former “Navette” service. At that point, the airline will hold a 50% market share at the airport.
Frequencies will remain high, though slightly reduced compared with today, on the Paris–Nice and Paris–Toulouse routes, allowing business travelers to complete same-day round trips, whether traveling from Orly or the provinces. The strong competition from high-speed rail on the Paris–Marseille route, however, justifies a more significant reduction in frequencies.
A dedicated sub-fleet for domestic flights
The takeover of service to Nice, Toulouse, and Marseille will bring to seven the number of domestic routes operated by Transavia France from Orly. “We have decided to set aside a dedicated sub-fleet for these routes,” said Julien Mallard, Executive Vice President, Commercial. This sub-fleet will consist of eleven aircraft, initially drawn from the company’s Boeing 737 fleet, and will also cover a handful of Schengen routes (Madrid, Milan, Porto) with significant business travel demand. “The additional traffic from Nice and Toulouse enables us to adopt this setup,” added Mallard.
According to Olivier Mazzucchelli, this structure will help Transavia achieve better punctuality and operational reliability on these routes—a necessity, given that these passengers tend to be more demanding than the average.
As for the overall fleet, it currently totals 91 aircraft, including 23 Airbus A320neos. New deliveries scheduled between late March and late June will bring the total to 96 aircraft, of which 27 will be A320neos. Mazzucchelli noted that the four Airbus jets joining the fleet in the coming months will be assembled in Tianjin, as the Toulouse and Hamburg final assembly lines are unable to deliver aircraft within the timeframes suited to Transavia France’s seasonal needs.
He also stated that 2026 will be the last year of strong growth for the low-cost carrier. “2027 will still see growth, but not at the same pace as in the past four years,” he emphasized. Beyond that, the airline will focus on completing its fleet renewal – aiming for an all-Airbus fleet of around 100 aircraft by 2031 – and improving its EBITDA.
