Nice Côte d’Azur Airport strengthens its commitment to fostering competitiveness

On 15 June 2015, the Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur (ACA) Group announced its commitment to ensuring competitiveness for the next 10 years (2016-2025) through a ‘Contrat de Compétitivité Territoriale’ aimed at scheduled Commercial Aviation at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport, which foresees:

- A 10-year freeze (‘inflation minus inflation’) on Airport Public-Service fees* for the Summer season as of April 2016.

- A reduction of -2.5% of the passenger fees for Winter 2016/2017 followed by a freeze, in terms of the current euro value, on new tariffs for the following 9 years.

This first measure corresponded to an unprecedented commitment in terms of "traffic risk transfer" from the airlines to the airport, as over a 10-year period the ACA Group will not – even in the event of a drop in traffic – revise upward its Airport Public-Service fees.

As a result of the Management's proposal, which was approved at its latest Supervisory Board meeting in April 2016, the ACA Group strengthens its approach and introduces additional undertakings:

• Committing to a consultation process on an initial Economic Regulation Contract of a duration of 5 years, with a view to an application as of April 2017, in the frame of which ACA will propose a reduction of airport fee tariffs due by scheduled airlines via an accentuation of the decrease of its Winter passenger fee initiated in 2016 (which will represent a reduction of over -17% of the Winter tariffs by 2020, i.e., -4% each Winter).

• Supporting this long-term competitive tariff trend with the goal of a continuous reduction of the Airport Public-Service fees for scheduled Commercial Aviation.

In view of the Group's Industrial Project and its current long-term perspectives, this increased effort to promote competitive fee tariffs for scheduled Commercial Aviation is compatible with the continued development of the airport and the continuous improvement of its operational and financial performance.

Through these proposals, which will be submitted to the regulator, and its long-term commitment to competitiveness whilst at the same time maintaining a significant investment programme, the ACA Group confirms its desire to press ahead with its win-win strategic initiative to ensure increased competitiveness for all its current and future airlines, so that this will benefit passengers and corporations, who would thus enjoy lower ticket prices, and its Territory it serves, allowing an attenuation of the seasonality effect.

The pursuit of this innovative and ambitious pricing strategy over the long term aims to ensure an overall reduction of -25% in the airport fees applied to scheduled commercial airlines through to the end of the concession period (and a reduction of -40% for the passenger Winter fee considered alone), and will thus provide long-term forward visibility that is unprecedented for the airport sector.

In accordance with the applicable regulation, all current and future airlines will benefit from these measures in accordance with strict equality of treatment.

Dominique Thillaud – Chairman of the Management Board, Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur: "The examination of the long-term strategy and commitments adopted by Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur removes all risk of tariff inflation. Defending with conviction, and above all with the implementation of concrete actions, competitiveness as a factor of attractiveness for the Territory requires commitment. And this is what we have once again demonstrated today, through this new win-win and long-term agreement for all the stakeholders. The competitive and continuous reduction of airport fees for scheduled Commercial Aviation at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport will contribute to ensuring better direct connections for the Côte d'Azur area…. The best way of achieving competitiveness is through concrete action!"

Didier Monges – Director of Airline Operations and Development: "In this way, we affirm our desire to go even further in our systematic search for competitiveness, which has been saluted by numerous airlines. We remain convinced that the strong impact of our measures will make all the difference for our current and future client airlines who challenge us with the offers of our European competitors."

Contact: Géraldine Giraud – Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur press officer - Tel.: +(33) 4 93 21 30 77 - Mobile: +(33) 6 50 32 86 66 - e-mail: geraldine.giraud@cote-azur.aeroport.fr

Nice Côte d'Azur is the second airport business in France after Paris, with 12 million passengers in 2015, 107 direct destinations and 61 scheduled airlines serving 37 countries. Outside Paris, it is also the only French airport to offer daily flights to New York and Dubai. www.nice.aeroport.fr
The Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur Group manages the Nice Côte d’Azur, Cannes Mandelieu and Golfe de Saint-Tropez airports, thus positioning itself as the 2nd airport in Europe for business aviation traffic. The leading European group for Business Aviation support in 2016 through its "Sky Valet" network, it is also present in Paris Le Bourget and throughout Spain. www.skyvalet.com

(*) Passenger, Landing and Parking fees