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EasyJet, Virgin win ex-Air Lib slots at Orly

PARIS: Britain's easyJet and Belgium-based Virgin Express had been assigned takeoff and landing slots at Orly airport that were freed up by failed French carrier Air Lib, French authorities said on Monday.

EasyJet won 7,300 of 35,568 annual slots that were reassigned by Cohor, the agency that handles the slots, while Virgin Express was given 5,840.

Other major airlines to benefit were Air France, with 2,190 slots, and Spain's Iberia, with 1,460 slots. Air France unit Brit Air also won 1,250 slots.

Air France has its hub at Paris's other airport, Roissy Charles de Gaulle, but had been keen to win slots freed up by Air Lib, in part to fend off a challenge from low-cost carriers like easyJet and Virgin Express.

A spokeswoman for Air France declined immediate comment on Cohor's decision.

French regional airline Aeris received 7,612 slots. In addition to the 35,658 new slots assigned by Cohor, the organisation said the French state had reserved 8,906 slots for routes to Corsica and overseas territories.

The easyJet slots include routes to Nice and Marseille in southern France, Milan and Barcelona. Europe's largest no-frills carrier had sought 20,000 annual slots, although it had not been expected to win that many.

The Virgin Express slots include domestic routes to Bordeaux and Toulon as well as to Rome. Virgin confirmed earlier this month that it had placed a bid for some of the assets of Air Lib.

The carrier, controlled by British entrepreneur Richard Branson's Virgin empire, is eyeing the launch of a no-frills airline in France.-Reuters