Corsair and French Bee announced services from Paris Orly to Newark starting from June 2020. Both carriers made the announcement on Thursday, mere hours one after the other.
On Thursday, September 12th, Corsair announced a new direct service from Paris Orly to Newark from June 2020, reports The Points Guy. Later in the day, the low-cost French carrier French Bee announced a route serving the same airports, with the service starting in June 2020 as well.
What does this mean for the New York to Paris routes?
Just over 2.3 million passengers traveled between New York in Paris in 2018, according to data provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
There is a huge competition on that market segment. The arrival of two new routes from Corsair and French Bee may destabilize the current market shares. This could particularly impact Norwegian, which currently faces financial difficulties.
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Other airlines already serve the busy Paris to New York Newark route, with the market being shared by United, Level, XL, and La Compagnie. Passengers can also travel from JFK to Paris via Air France, American, Norwegian and Delta.
Why have the two carriers joined an already busy market?
Cited by The Points Guy, Pascal de Izaguirre, Corsair’s chairman and CEO stated that,
"The opening of New York is a natural fit with our desire to develop our presence in the North American continent. On this line where the low-cost offer is abundant, Corsair will thus be the only alternative to large companies with a quality offer in three-class cabins.”
Marc Rochet, Chairman of French Bee, also stressed the importance of solidifying the airline's presence on the North American continent.
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Cited by One Mile at a Time, Rochet said,
“After a successful year in both San Francisco and French Polynesia, opening a second North American destination has solidified French bee’s position as a leading low-cost airline between France and the United States. New York and Paris welcome millions of French and American tourists every year. Our latest generation of aircraft will provide them with both comfort and travel quality at an affordable price.”
The second U.S. destination for low-cost carrier French Bee
While Corsair is more established on the North American continent, Newark will be only the second U.S. destination for French Bee. The low-cost French carrier started operating the Paris to San Francisco route in May 2018. That particular route continues to Tahiti, a popular French island.
It's not every day that two airlines announce exactly the same new route launching on the same month. With the two new routes, there will be a total of 10 airlines flying between New York and Paris starting from June 2020.