Air2 is planning to begin operations within 12-18 months.

Speaking to Flightglobal at the Routes Europe conference in Krakow today, founding partner Bruno Bouault said the French start-up carrier was seeking to source two to three aircraft with between 140 and 160 seats, such as an Airbus A319, and then grow the fleet to 10-12 units within three years.

Bouault describes Air2 as still a "project" and not yet a fully established company. He says investors are being sought.

Air2 will, he adds, be "a traditional low-cost carrier operating across Europe" but will not a "hard discount" operator; rather, its model will be "similar" to EasyJet's, Ryanair's and Volotea's.

Though the new carrier will be "positioned as a French company, for sure", with its first base in the country, it will seek to add a station elsewhere as it grows, Bouault says.

Air2 aims to operate domestic flights as the "network in France is underdeveloped for sure", but also intends to ply international routes. Bouault suggests there are opportunities for triangular flights such as Rome-Dortmund-Nantes.

Source: Cirium Dashboard