XL Airways France (Paris CDG) has announced on its website that it has been forced to suspend ticket sales effective immediately for flights starting September 20 due to financial difficulties.

The French long-haul low-cost carrier said that some of its future flights might be cancelled as a result of its current financial situation, but operations are currently scheduled to continue with passengers being asked to check the carrier's flight status page. According to French news agency AFP, XL said in a press statement that after having tried to find a buyer for over a year and having held negotiations with various interested parties, it would now have to file for bankruptcy protection.

"The objective is to ensure the payment of salaries and to quickly initiate the search for an investor under the direction of the Commercial Court of Bobigny," the airline said.

Using three A330-200s leased from AerCap, Carlyle Aviation Partners, and Aviator Capital as well as a GECAS owned A330-300, all four of them in all-Economy Class high density configuration, XL currently operates from Paris CDG airport to Cancún, Jinan, New York Newark, Punta Cana, St. Denis de la Réunion, and Varadero. Some of its flights to Réunion island operate via Lyon St. Exupéry.

XL's sister carrier La Compagnie (B0, Paris Orly) has a fleet of two A321-200neo(LR) and two B757-200s and offers Business Class only service from Orly and Nice to Newark. It is unaffected by XL's filing and has told ch-aviation that XL's situation was "very unfortunate." It added that "even though we belong to the same group, these two companies have different goals, different operations, organisations and financial structures. In other words, we are not impacted and running business as usual."