Reprise d’Air Austral : imminent decision

From unofficial sources, the Air Austral takeover offer presented by Michel Deleflie (Clinifutur group) and a group of Reunionese business leaders has a good chance of being accepted by the State. The latter still hoped, end of July, “marry” the Reunion airline to Corsair, perspective that the Réunion Region refuses, majority shareholder of Air Austral. But Paris seems to have given up on this solution. The European Commission, for its part, is patient. Last January 18, she had accepted that the State would grant a new loan of 20 million euros to the company on the condition that the latter present a sufficiently credible restructuring plan to keep Air Austral afloat within six months. The July 18 deadline has passed without Brussels making a public statement on this issue. The high season of July-August, marked by a high level of activity, should allow the company to get back on better footing. But the condition for its survival remains the State's renunciation of the majority of the sums it has advanced to Air Austral and the spreading of the company's tax and social debts., which amount to tens of millions of euros. The region, the Department and the CCI Réunion are for their part ready to put together 20 to 25 million euros on the table, in addition to the 30 million that Michel Deleflie and his partners will pay, in capital and current account, for the takeover of the company.