Tag: France

The French post office is adjusting its strategy and will once again concentrate on its core business — carrying letters. It is planning to sell its subsidiary Europe Airpost to South Africa’s Imperial Holdings.

The history of airmail in France started in the pioneering twenties of the last century, with the legendary company Adropostale and pilots such as Mermoz and Saint-Exupéry. But the French post office La Poste does not seem to be particularly interested in this tradition. It is planning to sell its air transport subsidiary Europe Airpost — which was known by the name Aeropostale until the year 2000 — to South Africa’s Imperial Holdings, owner of the airline Safair, this semester. Jean-Paul Bailly, La Poste’s president, explained that the company will focus on transporting letters by rail in future. In this context he pointed out that, together with state.owned rail operator SNCF, La Poste has plans to establish a network of postal TGV trains between France’s major conurbations, with links to the most important centres of trade and industry in neighbouring countries too.