What Exactly Is Corsair International's Operating Model?

Corsair International is likely the kind of airline that most Europeans and certainly most Americans have pretty much never heard of. The airline not only operates with an extremely unique operational model, but it also exists somewhere between the spectrum of full-service airlines and low-cost carriers, which makes it extremely difficult to actually pin down. As a result, many, even long-time airline industry observers, will find it difficult to nail down an exact definition for the operational model that Corsair uses.

The airline is most certainly not a full-service network carrier like Air France or KLM. It is also most certainly not a low-cost carrier like LEVEL or Norse Atlantic Airways. As a result, it exists in a somewhat bizarre gray area that makes it hard to understand, and it is one of the few remaining airlines that still does not cleanly fit into one of these two principal categories.



In this article, we will take a deeper look at Corsair International and explore exactly what kind of operational model the airline chooses to use. What Exactly Is Corsair International? Let's begin this article by discussing the immediate basics: what exactly is this unique airline? Well, the answer to that question might be a little more complicated than you might expect, but we can certainly start looking for an answer. Corsair International is a small airline that previously flew under the names Corsairfly and Corse Air International.

The carrier is French by registration. The airline itself is headquartered in Rungis, within the city of Paris, France, and it has a main operational base at Paris Orly Airport (ORY). From a management perspective, the small airline is a subsidiary of a German investment management group named Intro Aviation, which controls a little more than 50% of the company's shares.

The TUI Group is another major investor in the carrier, and it holds a 27% stake in the airline. The remainder of the company is held by assorted other private investors. From an operational perspective, the airline operates a small handful of long-haul services to leisure destinations across the globe, with most being Francophone overseas territories and nations that were previously colonized by France.

The airline also has a thriving charter business, with flights to select destinations during the peak months. The airline was founded over 40 years ago in May 1981, and it has grown to serve 15 destinations with a fleet of 9 jets today. Its frequent flyer program is Club Corsair.

Groupe Dubreuil (Air Caraïbes and French bee) is speaking out against the state aid its biggest rival, Corsair, hopes to receive. Where Specifically Does The Airline Fly Today? The Corsair International operational network today looks nothing like it did years ago, as a result of the airline routinely scaling back its offerings. The carrier once had a massive presence across North America and other overseas regions, but today focuses mostly on certain African destinations, French overseas territories, and occasional leisure travel hubs.

In Africa, the carrier continues to serve Cotonou, the capital of Benin, and Abidjan, the capital of the Ivory Coast. The airline also operates a seasonal route to Bamako, the capital of Mali. When it comes to the French overseas travel market, Corsair International has flights to quite a few different destinations.

From its hub at Paris Orly Airport, it flies nonstop to Point-a-Pitro in Guadeloupe, Fort-de-France in Martinique, Port Louis in Mauritius, Dzaoudzi in Mayotte, and Saint-Denis in Reunion, all flights which underscore the continued cultural connections between France and its island regions. Category: Corsair International Network Specification: Number of destinations: 15 Fleet size: 9 Corsair's presence in the non-Francophone Caribbean today remains a shadow of what it once was. It only has a single seasonal flight to Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) in the Dominican Republic, with service having recently been cut to cities in Cuba and Puerto Rico.

Flights to cities across continental North America have also slowly been withdrawn. The carrier once served Halifax, Montreal, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Francisco. Today, the airline mostly focuses on serving extremely niche markets where it has a specific market advantage.

What Aircraft Does Corsair Operate That Support This Unique Network? Throughout the past few years, Corsair International has made a continued effort to modernize and streamline its fleet, to the point that today it consists exclusively of Airbus A330-900 jets. This is a strategic shift from previous Corsair International fleets, which previously included Boeing 737, Boeing 747, Airbus A300, and Airbus A310 models, in addition to older Airbus A330-200 jets . These A330-90neo aircraft, which the carrier operates today, have been optimized for long-haul operations and offer exceptional fuel efficiency over previous-generation Airbus A330 models, according to AerCap .

The carrier also shifted towards these jets as they offer a multi-class seating configuration for more than 350 passengers while also having the appropriate range needed to fly to the airline's many destinations across Africa, North America, and the Indian Ocean. The airline's operational advantages and flexibility that it receives from having a standardized fleet come alongside reduced operating costs, which, across the board, make this aircraft an excellent jet for the carrier. Here are some specifics for how the airline equips its fleet: Class of service: Number of seats on a Corsair International Airbus A330-900 in this cabin: Business Class: 20 Premium Economy: 21 Economy: 311 The carrier's decision to modernize its fleet reflects a broader industry trend towards the continued use of more efficient widebody aircraft, those that could more easily offer the fuel economy needed to turn a profit on routes with more variable demand.

Corsair International had previously operated a more diverse fleet, one which had formerly included Boeing 737 models, French-built Sud Aviation Caravelle jets, and even some Boeing 747s . Where Did Corsair International Come From? Corsair International was originally established back in 1981 by the esteemed Rossi family under the name Corse Air International. In 1990, the carrier was quickly acquired by French general tour operator Nouvelles Frontieres and was renamed Corsair.

In 1991, the carrier managed to secure worldwide traffic rights. Starting in 2000, the TUI Group, one of the world's largest and most important general tour operators, took over Nouvelles Frontieres, and it quickly began to have an impact on Corsair and the way it did business, according to FlightGlobal . The carrier expanded its fleet, even purchasing Boeing 747-400 models that once held the record for the most seats on a commercial passenger aircraft.

Starting in 2004, the airline painted its jets in a blue TUI livery, with the entire fleet rebranded in this way by the end of 2005. This came amid a larger initiative by the TUI Group to quickly rebrand all of its subsidiary carriers to ensure brand commonality. The carrier briefly operated under the name Corsairfly.

Starting back in 2008, the carrier announced its plans to expand its medium-haul network throughout the Mediterranean and build a long-haul network to North America, with the first destination to be added being Miami in June 2010. The majority of these large-scale international expansion efforts were never realized, with the carrier instead launching its "Takeoff 2012" modernization plan, which included a 25% reduction of its workforce and the replacement of outdated 747 models with more efficient Airbus A330s. The carrier quickly performed cabin refurbishments and exited the charter market, and it also terminated routes to Kenya, the Dominican Republic, Quebec City, Moncton, and Israel at the same time.

In March 2012, the carrier rebranded itself as Corsair International and slowly began to refine the operational network that exists today. Corsair plans to return flying to Mali's capital this summer despite a tense political situation and overflight restrictions. So, What Kind Of Operational Model Does Corsair International Use Exactly? The closest carriers in comparison to Corsair International are dedicated long-haul airlines that strictly serve leisure airlines, but do not do so with a traditional low-cost model.

In some ways, Corsair is like a small addendum to the TUI Group network, but it does have some strong differences from traditional low-cost airlines. For starters, the carrier operates flights with business and premium economy cabins, something strongly opposed to the historic practices of low-cost airlines. Furthermore, the airline mostly avoids competing with other carriers, primarily trying to find market niches where it will face limited competition.

As a result, Corsair has become mostly a francophone tour operator, a carrier that connects Paris to underserved French-speaking areas of the world. It caters to both high-yielding French travelers heading to island destinations and a diaspora community through its multiple West African routes..