Air Antilles is being relaunched under a new partnership between the French engineering company EDEIS group and the Collectivité de Saint-Martin.
ADVERTISEMENTAir Antilles, one of the main regional airlines in the French Antilles, had recently resumed operations following its liquidation in 2023. Based in Guadeloupe, the airline provides flights to a number of Caribbean destinations such as Antigua and Barbuda, Martinique, Saint Barthelemy, Barbados, Saint Martin, the Dominican Republic, Dominica and Puerto Rico.
The company was originally a merger between Air Guyane and Air Antilles, established in 2002 and operating under the CAIRE group. However, following the CAIRE group filing for bankruptcy last July, Air Antilles had to stop operations.
Now, the airline is being revived under a new partnership between the French engineering company EDEIS group and the Collectivité de Saint-Martin. Under this agreement, the latter will own 60%, whereas EDEIS owns 40%.
The airline started flights again on Monday with a flight to Grand Case on Saint Martin from Pointe-a-Pitre in Guadeloupe.
Air Antilles’ new start could revive tourism in the Antilles region
Regarding the takeover, Air Antilles said, on its website, “The acquisition of Air Antilles by the Collectivité de Saint-Martin and the Edeis Group has given rise to a strategic alliance aimed at strengthening the aviation sector in the Antilles. This union capitalises on the local expertise in the aviation sector of the Collectivité and on the proven know-how of the Edeis group in the same sector.
“Together, they are committed to offering quality air service, both for residents and businesses, while promoting the economic and tourist development of the region. This collaboration aims to develop new business opportunities and stimulate air traffic to and from the Antilles, thus consolidating Air Antilles’ position as a major player in regional air transport. And, among other things, each new opportunity is a valuable chance for mutual growth.”
Currently, following the restructuring, Air Antilles will be serving Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin, Martinique and Saint- Barthélemy.
Air Antilles’ resurrection follows the Microsoft outage on 19 July which left several global airlines such as Delta, United Airlines, Virgin Australia, Singapore Airlines and Ryanair with numerous difficulties in checking in and issuing boarding passes. The IT issues also caused several flight cancellations and delays.
Recently, the Nigerian airline Air Peace has also shown interest in acquiring a major stake in LIAT, a West Indian airline, following the latter struggling considerably recently. This partnership would go a long way in strengthening the travel routes between West Africa and the Caribbean.
LIAT, headquartered in Antigua and Barbuda, is another smaller Caribbean regional airline which went into administration in the last few years, but has since been functioning with a reduced fleet.
Air Peace is also reportedly in talks with the government of Barbados to increase its travel links with the country as well.
