Aigle Azur (Paris Orly) has announced it will enter the French domestic market later in the year.

An airline announcement last week said it would offer 12x weekly flights between Nantes and Lyon St. Exupéry beginning October 29. Operations are on-board A320-200 equipment configured with 180 seats in a single-class layout.

France's domestic market is currently controlled by Air France and its HOP! (France) unit which, together, control 66.25% of weekly seats offered (or 434,351 seats/week), followed by easyJet (84,102 seats/week or 12.83%), Air Corsica (63,320 seats/week or 9.66%), and Volotea (43,200 seats/week or 6.59%).

The move marks the latest adjustment to France's second largest carrier's business model following the addition of A330 widebody jets and the unveiling of flights to Brazil and China.

Aigle Azur currently operates eight A320-200s, two A330-200s, and one ATR42-300(F) (wet-leased from Swiftair (WT, Madrid Barajas)) on flights connecting various metropoles across France with cities in the Middle East, North and West Africa, Brazil, Continental Europe, and Russia.