Français
Chairman of the Board of Directors of Air Antilles since the company's relaunch sixteen months ago, Jérôme Arnaud announced his departure on Friday April 18.
Jérôme Arnaud, CEO and then Chairman of the Board of Air Antilles since the company's relaunch, will be stepping down at the end of April.
Some might compare this decision to that of a captain abandoning his ship in the middle of a storm. But the departure of Jérôme Arnaud, who was Chairman of the Board of Directors after serving as CEO when Air Antilles was relaunched over sixteen months ago, is said to have been planned for a long time. As Jérôme Arnaud explains: "Initially, the plan was for the majority shareholder, the Collectivité de Saint-Martin, to appoint a new Chairman of the Board. I am firmly convinced that governance by a politician will enable us to finalize and intensify the airline's commercial development. "Yes, Jérôme Arnaud should be replaced by an elected member of the Collectivité de Saint-Martin. According to the future ex-Chairman of the Board, the airline's governance has already begun to evolve, with the arrival of a CEO in June 2024.
The future of Air Antilles is more in question than ever. Since April 6, the company has only had a provisional operating license valid until June 30. This time-limited operating license does not mean a cessation of the company's activities. It can be extended for a further year. However, it can also be suspended, sounding the death knell for Air Antilles in its new incarnation. Even if, according to the company, the license modification was "an expected decision".
"Many assets
For the time being, Air Antilles' financial situation remains worrying. Since the partial takeover of the company by the Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Martin and Cipim (the holding company of Edeis) at the end of 2023, the Collectivité has injected nearly 18 million euros into the company. These funds are proving insufficient to sustain the company's activity, despite an additional contribution of four million euros from Cipim. Two weeks ago (JSB 1611), the company's directors stated that they were awaiting the imminent arrival of a "reference shareholder" to bolster the company's coffers. However, according to our information, this new investor, who has never been named, has not signed any agreement with the company. This situation does not seem to alarm Jérôme Arnaud.
In an interview with La 1ère, the Chairman of the Board of Directors declared: "Air Antilles has a number of assets that ensure its robustness. These include 22 million net assets, which are the aircraft. So Air Antilles intends to take advantage of this situation to generate a very significant amount of cash and continue its development plan. "
However, while a development plan had been drawn up, it seemed essential to ratify a rescue plan. On June 30, the axe will fall for Air Antilles. Either its operating license will be extended, but under what conditions, or it will be withdrawn altogether.
