It is hard to believe that the airline will keep both hubs, only an hour and a half apart by road. Air France confirms its commitment to both hubs but says it will eliminate duplicate flights, probably in favour of Lyon. The airport says it is difficult to attract major carriers to the airport. Studies show potential traffic between Montpellier and London of 120,000 passengers per year, but little interest from British Airways for a second daily flight. Only the five largest airports attract the interest of airlines nowadays.
French airports face a further threat from high-speed train routes.
The opening of a new TGV railtrack between Paris and Marseille in 2001 will compete directly with flights, while the development of a high-speed track to Strasbourg, which was given the green light by the government last year, is expected to open in 2005. Strong performance by the low-cost carriers and the growing charter market sector is necessary to offset these challenges for the provincial airports. Nice expects to handle more than nine million passengers this year, matching the airport's capacity according to marketing manager, Filip Soet. Air Littoral's hub now comprises daily services to some 23 cities and is part of the Qualiflyer group, controlled by Swissair. Air Littoral transported over one million passengers out of Nice and AOM carried 0.77 million passengers on the Nice-Paris route.