CityJet announced today their new independence as a European regional airline with new shareholders, INTRO Aviation GmbH, through an Irish holding company. The new shareholders bring with them strong leadership and wealth of aviation experience having previously established Eurowings AG and turning around Deutsche BA and LTU GmbH. INTRO Aviation is the majority shareholder in Austrian regional airline InterSky.
The airline will re-brand with new logo, uniforms, and new livery in June, and currently has 850 staff.
With the sale process finalised, CityJet will be starting debt-free. The airline has 18 Avro RJ85s and 11 Fokker 50s through subsidiary VLM Airlines. The business plan projection should allow the airline to make significant financial progress. CityJet will do so in part by leveraging their built-in strengths: experienced staff, an established portfolio of customers, and a great quality of service. An important point of the business plan includes fleet renewal for the Avro RJ 85s that will begin as soon as possible.
CityJet will continue to operate around 700 flights a week from its operational hub, London City Airport, and satellite networks from Cardiff Airport and Cambridge International Airport. CityJet will also operate flights on behalf of Air France from Charles de Gaulle Airport. However, only the Dublin to London City and the new Dublin to Cambridge route will operate on a code share with Air France.
Christine Ourmières will continue to serve as Chief Executive and a member of the Board, and the CityJet senior management team will remain the same. Members of the Board include Michael Collins, CityJet Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Chief Executive; Peter Oncken, Managing Director, INTRO Aviation as the Chairman; Eberhard Simon, shareholder of the INTRO Group as Director, and Hans Rudolf Wöhrl, Founder and Chief Executive, INTRO Group, will be the Chief Advisor of the Board.
Chief Executive, CityJet
Commenting on this new independence, Christine Ourmières, CityJet’s Chief Executive, said: “Today marks an exciting new chapter for CityJet. As an established regional airline, with the talented and qualified staff, we embark on an exhilarating new adventure. I am particularly pleased for the CityJet employees. This new ownership will create a stronger company, with a path to improved greater long-term opportunities for all employees.”
Hans Rudolf Wöhrl, Founder and Chief Executive, INTRO Group, added: “I hope this unique opportunity of working with a fresh start will give the management and employees the chance to show what a successful airline CityJet can be. In order to empower and fully integrate the management, it is INTRO policy to have the management team as partners and shareholders, so both the Chief Executive, Christine Ourmières, and Deputy Chief Executive Michael Collins, are now 7.5% shareholders of the company.
