Events have moved fast since the establishment last November of Regional Compagnie Aérienne Européenne, the new integrated Air France subsidiary that merges the former Regional Airlines, Flandre Air and Proteus Airlines into a single entity. In an interview with Aviation International News, Jacques Bankir, Regional’s managing director, spoke with optimism about the future of the company, formed in April with a collection of 75 airplanes and 1,500 employees from the three former independent airlines.
“As far as we are concerned, Regional is a new airline which is presently undergoing a head-to-foot restructuring,” said Bankir, a 30-year industry executive whose résumé includes terms with CityJet, AOM, Air France and Air Tahiti Nui. “We are building from the bottom up.” The three airlines that now comprise the new company boarded about 2.6 million passengers from April 2000 to April 2001 and was “already on target” to maintain that level. However, Bankir stressed that projections could change because Regional remained “in the midst of a deep-seated restructuring exercise.”
