Low-cost airline Volotea at home in Nantes

Spanish low-cost airline Volotea has just signed a partnership agreement with the tourist board aimed at further boosting Nantes' image as an attractive tourist destination. 

It was back in June 2012 that low-cost airline Volotea chose Nantes Atlantique airport as the location for its first base in France.

Three years on, the low-cost company has reinforced its relations with Nantes, signing a partnership agreement with Voyage à Nantes - the body responsible for promoting the city as a tourist destination. Through this agreement, Volotea is committed to giving Nantes Saint-Nazaire pride of place across all of its promotion channels. For its part, Voyage à Nantes will be incorporating Volotea as an integral component of its geographic development strategy. A "win-win" agreement designed to establish Nantes as an urban tourist destination and help boost visitor numbers.   

"Nantes, a draw for visitors"

"Nantes and its region play host to a rich and diverse range of cultural and tourist attractions. So we are delighted to be able to make our own contribution to the promotion of a region that draws visitors from France and across Europe", underlines Carlos Munoz, founder and CEO of Volotea. 

Tourism development and economic development go hand-in-hand in the region. By the end of June 2015, Volotea is set to reach the milestone of one million passengers flown in and out of Nantes Atlantique airport. A quarter of them come from other regions of France or other countries in Europe (Italy, Spain, Germany and the Czech Republic). 

Benefits for the tourism sector: Tripling of the number of flights in 3 years  

Between 2013 and 2014, Nantes Atlantique airport saw a 15% rise in passenger numbers, the biggest increase at any French airport, ahead of Bordeaux (+12.7%). Half of this increase is down to Volotea, with the low-cost airline having tripled the number of its flights and passenger numbers into and out of Nantes in the space of three years. 

Since 2012, the low-cost airline has come a long way. It now operates services to 22 destinations from Nantes airport: 7 in France, 7 in Spain, 5 in Italy, 1 in Germany (Munich), 1 in the Czech Republic and 1 in Croatia. It already serves more destinations than AirFrance/Hop, which operates to just 16 destinations (1).

In terms of benefits for the tourism sector, some 24,000 visitors from Italy, 26,000 from Spain and 27,000 from Germany and the Czech Republic have flown into Nantes with Volotea.

There as also been an increase in the number of business passengers and congress delegates from Strasbourg and Montpellier.  

Some one hundred jobs created in Nantes 

As a result, the development of Volotea in Nantes has generated around one hundred jobs in the city: airline pilots, ground staff, etc.

And the trend is set to continue in the coming years. "Nantes is one of Volotea's most important hubs in France and Europe and will remain a priority over the coming years", confirms the group's CEO 

(1) Destinations available from Nantes:

• France:   Strasbourg, Ajaccio, Bastia, Figari Sud Corse (Corsica), Montpellier, Perpignan, Grenoble 
• Italy:   Venice, Palermo, Olbia, Naples, Pisa/Florence
• Spain:   Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Malaga, Palma(Majorca), Ibiza, Tenerife, Valencia
• Germany:   Munich
• Croatia:   Split
• Czech Republic:  Prague