The Spanish low-cost airline has opened 21 new routes to European islands in 2023 and plans to strengthen its presence in Corsica by 2025.
For eleven years that it has been operating on European territory, the Spanish company Volotea has developed specific connectivity to the European islands. It is thus present at 27 island airports and 53%, or more than half of its 400 routes are operated from and to islands. 47% of them are exclusive routes. Volotea thus promotes the connectivity of the islands (Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Greek Islands) with four countries on the continent. Volotea opened a total of 21 new routes to or from European islands in 2023.
A base in Corsica in two years?
Present in Corsica for more than ten years, Volotea has transported 6.3 million passengers (representing 19% of the company’s island routes) and operated more than 50,000 flights. It now operates throughout Corsica, with a presence in four airports (Ajaccio, Bastia, Figari and Calvi) and offers more than thirty connections to and from the island. It thus connects Corsica with nine cities in continental France (Bordeaux, Brest, Caen, Lille, Lyon, Montpellier, Nantes, Strasbourg, Toulouse). Volotea also plans to install a base in Corsica within two years, if traffic growth continues and particularly if the company is allocated public service delegation lines following the consultation currently underway. The latter would thus be its fourth base on a European island.
France, Volotea’s first market
Representing nearly 60% of its activity, France is Volotea’s largest market. The airline has planned a historic offer with almost 6.5 million seats by the end of 2023. Volotea will offer a total of 246 routes, of which almost half are exclusive and 61 are domestic. Volotea will strengthen connections between the continent and the European islands, with more than 2.2 million seats for island destinations, or 34% of its seat offering.
