Cityjet says it is looking forward to a profitable future as an independent, debt-free regional airline, following its acquisition by investor group Intro.
The group has bought the airline and its subsidiary VLM, from Air France-KLM. The deal was completed on May 1. Christine Ourmiers, who remains CEO of the airline, said there will be a rebrand in June this year, reflecting a “change of spirit” at Cityjet. “We are now independent, following a long process,” she said. We are unique in that we are in a debt-free position.”
Cityjet is launching services from Cambridge International airport to Dublin and Amsterdam from May 12.
The airline says it is evaluating its fleet of Avro RJ85s and Fokker 50s, and expects a fleet exchange programme to roll out over the next 2.5 years.
The Intro group, headed by Hans Rudolf Woehrl, claims a successful record of turning around loss-making airlines. This includes buying Deutsche BA and subsequently selling it to Air Berlin, and acquiring NFD, which then became Eurowings, now part of Lufthansa Regional.
Cityjet added that it will continue to build on its key partnership with London City airport.