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interview with Marc Rochet at the helm of French Bee and Air Caraïbes
Present in Santo Domingo during the General Assembly of Tourism Journalists (AJT) Marc Rochet, President of French Bee and Vice-President of Air Caraïbes kindly answered our questions. Air Caraïbes feels strongly about developing and coming out of the crisis with or without a new shareholder. French Bee is chomping at the bit (park) to go to New York … and elsewhere in the United States. TourMaG.com takes stock with one of the most moving figures in the airline industry, Marc Rochet.
Written by Christophe Hardin on Monday January 25, 2021
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Entered into the capital of CMA-CGM: “It’s a good deal. You have to know if we manage to implement it, but it will have to be decided in the month of January or February.” – Photo Air Caraïbes
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Marc Rochet: In the beginning, Jean-Paul Dubreuil, with passion, created a small airline, Air Vendée, which then grew to be called Régional Airlines, a company that he then sold to Air France.
In 2000, in the West Indies, he bought Eric Kourry, this name will undoubtedly mean something to you *, an inter-island company, Air Caraïbes, very small and in ruins. Getting this business started again is more difficult than expected, particularly in this regional business sector.
At the time, I had a consulting company. Jean-Paul Dubreuil asks me to ask me to give him an analysis of the situation. My conclusions are as follows: it got off to a bad start, the situation is bad and we must withdraw.
But in business, Jean-Paul Dubreuil is not a man to retire, so I told him: “Take risks and go for the long haul”.
We therefore embarked on the long haul. This is what carried the name of Air Caraïbes, which carried our history. We operated the first flights between Paris – Pointe-à-Pitre and Fort-de-France in December 2003 and until 2019. It’s a great story, a great growth, a success.
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Closure of Orly: “we were stunned, nailed to the ground.”
Marc Rochet: Yes, practically, but the story does not end there. With this success and as it is a family group that invests the money it earns, we felt that the market was going to evolve, that there were opportunities. And in 2015 we wanted to do external growth and buy Corsair.
The operation failed, so we decided to create, in September 2016, a new low cost long-haul airline: French Bee, which we have developed with tremendous success to Reunion, then San Francisco, Tahiti and soon New York. .
TourMaG.com – And then comes 2020 …
Marc Rochet: Indeed everything was fine. January, February 2020 the beautiful story continues. We were growing 15%, planes were ordered, orders confirmed and then the sky fell on our heads. With in particular something that marked us a lot: the closure of Orly in April.
We were stunned, pinned to the ground.
With only two, three days to return, we managed to bring back our passengers, crews and planes.
In all the companies we prepare crisis plans but this one… we didn’t have it.
With the support of our shareholder, we have started negotiations with all our staff to negotiate APCs (collective performance agreements) with this idea: we keep everyone on board but we all leave wages on the table. And that’s what we did, including management.
Then I was the one who, along with many of my colleagues, led the sling for the reopening of Orly. And we were able to win our case for a reopening in June which allowed us to restart our activities.
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“We have benefited from common law measures”
Marc Rochet: It was at the level of the Dubreuil Group that we requested an EMP and we obtained it immediately. The accounts were good. I would point out that the EMPs are made by the banks.
The State takes the credit for it because it gives its guarantees, but it is with the banks that you negotiate the EMPs and that will have to be repaid.
The Dubreuil Group therefore negotiated with the banks, and we obtained a loan of € 150 million without any problem for the 5,000 jobs that the group represents.
We have therefore effectively benefited from common law measures. It is true that I am quite critical of the strategy of the State. I often quote Christian Blanc, who I think was a great Chairman of Air France, and who said: ‘‘The state is not a strategist’’.
However, in terms of reaction, Bercy was very effective in this area.
Likewise, the quickly implemented partial unemployment benefit measure was a good decision. The speed at which the devices have been put in place is a good thing. The State has been very responsive and this is to its credit.
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CMA-CGM: “the situation has not changed for two reasons”
Marc Rochet: What I can tell you today is … yes with Jean-Paul Dubreuil, we felt that there could be someone who invests as a minority in our Group, and we were very reluctant to public capital.
CMA-CGM is a solid and reputable group. It is the 4th largest shipowner in the world, a powerful group, very present in boats but not at all in air transport *. And so there was a contact that went well, and we announced an engagement on December 23, 2020.
The situation has not changed for two reasons: the first is that we have regulatory limits to respect, in particular on the competition regime, given our respective positions which are very strong on certain routes, we will have to have a green light from the competition authorities.
The second reason, and in all fairness, is that when two private groups decide to work together, it is complex and therefore, indeed, today we have not moved on to marriage. It’s a good deal. It is necessary to know, if one manages to implement it, but that will have to be decided in the month of January or February.
In any event, we plan to expand into air freight, a sector that is doing well.
TourMaG.com – Some people claim that CMA-CGM was annoyed by your charge against Corsair, recently taken over by a consortium of Caribbean investors. Are you now playing appeasement? You no longer dream of a duopoly?
Marc Rochet: Not at all. Duopoly or not, if the prices are too expensive the customer will change destination. Corsair has been in loss for 20 years without any real action to restructure. I have nothing against the competition from Corsair, but if it is funded by massive aid of public money, it is only fitting that we are watching this closely.
And to date, at the beginning of January, the 30 M € contribution to Corsair’s capital by the consortium, are not there.
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“We have plans for the United States”
Marc Rochet: This is one of the things we watch.
TourMaG.com – Corsair seems to have abandoned the idea of serving New York. Are you keeping this destination open with French Bee in the coming months? Are you ready ?
Marc Rochet: We are ready! We have the plane and the time slots. With the San Francisco Tahiti line, we have developed what is needed in terms of a commercial tool to be present in the American market.
We thought it was a shame to have such a tool for only one destination. So we have plans for the United States.
The most obvious is New York. To give you an order of magnitude, the Paris-Pointe-à-Pitre line has 1.4 million passengers a year, New York is 1.8 million, so it’s a very big market. French Bee’s low cost product is believed to be very effective.
And on the US, we think President Biden is going to change things, we expect a start in May or June. We have to be ready to push the button in April, and our airport will be Newark.
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Marc Rochet: This measure will continue to weigh down French airlines. In addition, the double checkout system ** is maintained at ADP, which is unfair.
(To determine this increase, only the revenues from ADP’s aeronautical services are taken into account, without including those from non-aeronautical services such as shops, restaurants, car parks.)
Applied to my activity as an air carrier, could I therefore only be regulated on the revenue from passenger transport and keep the cargo for myself?
TourMaG.com – How do you see the near future?
Marc Rochet: We came out of this second confinement in mid-December. We had a satisfying Christmas and New Year period. Currently we are seeing traffic leaving on our traditional routes. We hope there will be no third lockdown however we are armed.
We were very severely affected in 2020. It is behind us. Between the financial solidity of the Dubreuil Group, that of Air Caraïbes and French Bee, we are capable of going through a new crisis … but this shouldn’t happen!
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Eric Kourry has just taken control of Corsair with a pool of ultra-marine shareholders.
(**) in March 2003, CMA-CGM joined forces with the airline carrier Virgin Express to take over the bankrupt airline Air Lib. The file did not materialize.
(***) To determine the increase in airport charges, the Transport Regulatory Authority (ART) only takes into account the revenues from aeronautical services paid to ADP. The carriers demand that very profitable non-aeronautical revenues such as shops, car parks, restaurants, etc. be taken into account as well.
If the revenues from aeronautical and extra-aeronautical services were grouped together in a single fund, the commercial receipts could also subsidize aeronautical services and thus allow a moderation of charges.
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Marc Rochet (French Bee, Air Caraïbes): the entry into the capital of CMA-CGM,
Christophe Hardin has, to his credit, many flying hours as a cabin crew.
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He is a member of the Association of Professional Aeronautics and Space Journalists (AJPAE) and the Association of Tourism Journalists (AJT).
– All discourteous, abusive or defamatory comments will be immediately deleted by the moderator.
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