A French City Is Quietly Becoming Budget Airline Country

Volotea, the Spanish-founded low-cost carrier, has announced a new base at Montpellier in southern France. It will be the airline’s twelfth base in the country, a sign of how much of its business now depends on regional French airports rather than the big Paris hubs.

The base comes with a larger schedule. Volotea says it will offer 14 routes from Montpellier in 2027, with around 420,000 seats, which the airline describes as a 22 percent increase on the capacity it offers from the city today. Basing aircraft locally usually means more frequencies and earlier departures, which tends to matter most to leisure travelers planning short trips.

Two of the new connections have been named. Montpellier to Málaga will start in summer 2027 with two weekly flights, and Montpellier to Bari in southern Italy will also operate twice a week. Both pair a Mediterranean French city with a warm-weather destination, a pattern that has proven popular for budget carriers in the region.

For travelers, the practical benefit is more nonstop choice from a mid-sized airport that often forces passengers to connect or drive to larger cities. Low-cost fares and add-on fees vary widely, so it is worth comparing the total price, including bags and seat selection, before assuming a base-airline route is the cheapest way to travel.

Sources: Aviation Week