THE Paris Commercial Court would have validated yesterday the resumption of tour operator Viaticumowner of online travel agencies (OTA) Flight Exchange and Travel Exchangeby Resaneoan online transport reservation platform exclusively dedicated to tourism professionals.
The Court is expected to publish the judgment on October 27. By acquiring Viaticum’s intangible assets (brands, databases, sites and domain names, software), Resaneo is building a portfolio worthy of a leading online travel group. The Lyon-based company, which already owns the Speedmedia reservation platform, the Promovols merchant site and the Quartier Libre tour operator, will actively enter the travel BtoC with the OTAs Bourse des vols and Bourse des voyages, champion sites of natural referencing in Google.
Reacting to the decision of the Commercial Court, Fabrice Dariot, founder of Viaticum, declared: “I have no business interfering in the choice of the commissioner judge. Resaneo is a professional company that will continue the adventure of the Bourse des Vols and Bourse des Voyages brands, and remain loyal to our customers.“. Understanding the choice of the Commercial Court, the boss definitively turns the page of travel to now focus on new activities, “artificial intelligence and literary publishing“.
However, many people in the profession still do not understand how Viaticum, a financially healthy and innovative company over the last 25 years, could have fallen in 90 days. In fact, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is the direct cause.
In mid-July, IATA asked Viaticum to provide a bank guarantee representing 80% of its 2022 turnover. Faced with the impossibility of obtaining a deadline from IATA or the support of its banking partners, the tour operator was suspended with immediate effect, in mid-August, the rights to issue airline tickets in the BSP (Billing and Settlement Plan) system, despite more than a quarter of a century of partnership without the slightest payment incident. Unable to sell dry flights, its main activity via its OTAs Bourse des vols and Bourse des voyages, Viaticum was placed in liquidation in mid-September.
