Europe Airpost Offers Transatlantic Connections to Halifax

ASL Aviation Group subsidiary, Europe Airpost, is to launch a series of eight return flights from Halifax Stanfield International Airport to France and the UK during summer 2014. The little-known French airline operates mail and cargo flights for the postal service and newspapers dispatch during the night and scheduled and charter services for other airlines and tour operators by day with a fleet of ‘Quick Change’ Boeing 737s.

Every week between July 4, 2014 and August 29, 2014, Europe Airpost will connect the Canadian city with Glasgow and Paris using a Boeing 737-700 configured in a two-class lay-out, with a capacity of 128 seats: 24 in Premium Economy class and 104 in Economy class. The aircraft will operate on a Paris – Glasgow – Halifax – Glasgow – Paris routing and tickets will be made available in early January through travel agencies, subject to government approval.

“The launch of this new route meets Europe Airpost strategy of diversification with the operation of a series of scheduled flights. The Boeing 737-700 aircraft of the company perfectly suits the needs of a summer transatlantic connection between Halifax, Glasgow and Paris,” said Jean-François Dominiak, chief executive officer, Europe Airpost.

Direct air links between the Halifax Regional Municipality, the capital of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and Europe are currently limited but there is a strong demand for a short season charter package like being offered by Europe Airpost. Air Canada for a long time provided the only direct scheduled link to Europe with a connection to London Heathrow and Icelandair recently introduced a link to Keflavik, proving onward connections across Europe. Air Transat also offers a seasonal operation to London Gatwick and Condor flights to Frankfurt.

The Europe AirPost operation will mark a return of Glasgow – Halifax flights after an almost five year hiatus. Long-haul low-cost carrier Zoom Airlines operated a seasonal service on the route from 2004 until 2008, while flyglobespan also served the market during summer 2009, following Zoom’s collapse.

According to data from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), up to 6,000 annual passengers travelled on the Glasgow - Halifax route during the six summer seasons of operation. Zoom Airlines also offered direct flights between Paris Charles de Gaulle and Halifax during summer 2007 and Corsair between Paris Orly and Halifax in the summer schedules between 2008 and 2010, handling between 2,500 and 5,000 annual passengers, according to MIDT data.

"We are very pleased to welcome Europe Airpost to our region,” said Tom Ruth, president & chief executive officer, Halifax International Airport Authority. “Their new service to Glasgow and Paris – two very popular European destinations – takes full advantage of pent-up demand to these markets and complements our 2014 summer schedule of flights.”

In the table below we highlight the largest bi-directional O&D passenger flows between Halifax Stanfield International Airport and destinations across Europe during 2012.