When you think of domestic flights in France, the first thought that comes to mind is Air France or its subsidiary Transavia France. But the Spanish low-cost airline Volotea has now overtaken the top dog, even though the capital Paris only plays a subordinate role in the route network.

No other airline serves as many point-to-point routes within France as Volotea. They specialize in connecting regions with each other. In the capital Paris they are represented at Orly Airport, but they only offer a single route within France. This leads to Lourdes/Tarbes.

All other domestic routes have no connection to the capital, but rather connect individual regions with each other. They cleverly slipped into gaps left by the Air France group by phasing out smaller aircraft and failed experiments like Hop. Volotea was also able to win one or two PSO tenders. Due to the route profiles, you are not affected by the “short-haul ban within France”.

The Spanish low-cost airline is now also preparing to go public. According to local media reports, Morgan Stanley and Barclays Capital are said to have been commissioned to make the necessary preparations. They want to be listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange in the future. However, they were close to taking this step in 2016 and had already officially communicated the plan, but backed out at short notice.

It therefore remains to be seen whether Volotea will succeed in listing on the stock exchange in the second attempt. In 2016, however, they did not fail due to the requirements, but rather canceled the step voluntarily and at their own request.