British Airways Announce Purchase Of French Airline L'Avion

British flagship carrier British Airways have reached a deal to purchase the French airline L'Avion which will cost the airline £54 million. This price will mean the airlines purchase is covered as well as a £26 million investment of cash that is put into the business.

L'Avion have just two Boeing 757 aircraft and are privately owned. The two aircraft flew regular routes between Paris Orly and Newark Airports. The purchase of the airline will mean that the airline will become a subsiduary of British Airways and will be incorporated into Open Skies which is British Airways new EU-US subsiduary.

The chief executive of British Airways Willie Walsh has commented on the purchase by saying;

"L'Avion is a successful airline that has built up a premium business between Orly and New York in a relatively short period of time. It has many synergies with OpenSkies and buying it provides OpenSkies with a larger schedule and an established customer base in the Paris-New York market."

The co-founder and chairman of L'Avion Christophe Bejach also commented by saying;

"We are happy to merge our operation with OpenSkies. This transaction will strengthen our current base and enable the combined airline to grow faster and stronger. Our staff will benefit from the ambition and recognised expertise of the buyer and our customers will have access to an even better service, on a larger scale."

Published by: Jon Vickery