Les Sables-d'Olonne Vendée Globe. Group Dubreuil Air Caraïbes: The Aviation Director landed …

Les Sables-d'Olonne Vendée Globe. Group Dubreuil: the Director Aviation landed …

From Sunday January 12, 2025, the information reached Sablais reporter an off.
Nothing is going well between the Dubreuil Family Air Caraïbes / Frenchbee leader and the director of Dubreuil Aero, Christine Ourmières-Widener.
It seems that the games are made between her and Paul-Henri Dubreuil, current CEO and son of the founder of the aeronautical branch, the Vendéen Jean-Paul Dubreuil.
But, here and there, we temper things. Like what Jean-Paul Dubreuil has always done: we remain in discretion. No noise, no waves. It would be just a problem of discrepancy in strategic vision.

Christine Ourmières-Widener
Graduated in mechanics and aerotechnics, marketing at ESSEC, she became sales director and then director of airlines. It will be in different positions for Air France KLM in the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Her journey will then be more difficult, between 2017 and 2024, at Flybe, and TAP Air Portugal following TAGGATE, a allowance of € 500,000 affected by the Secretary of State for the Treasury Alexandra Reis when she left the Board of Directors from TAP Air Portugal. A cart of several people was then decided by the government and Christine Ourmers was part of it.
It is in this context that Christine Ourmières-Widener, landed by Tap Portugal in March 2023, took over the air center of the Dubreuil group in November 2023, with in particular Air Caraïbes, French Bee and Hi Line Cargo.

It takes over a very large specialist in the sector, Marc Rocher, who advised Jean-Paul Dubreuil for twenty years for the development of the aeronautical branch and more particularly Air Caribbean.

Supposed to have skills in the processing and restructuring of airlines, this new forced start from Christine Ourmeres-Widener weakens the Dubreuil aeronautical group punctually.
Punctually, because despite the change of governance with the group's handling by Paul-Henri Dubreuil on July 1, 2023, Jean-Paul Dubreuil still followed the group he built-and which was launched by his own father he 100 years ago in 1924 from a grocery store in La Roche-sur-Yon.
In addition, Marc Rocher (who started in 2003) is still a director at the Dubreuil Aéro (GDA) group board and in the companies ” And can therefore continue to bring his expertise to a sector he knows by heart ”.

The genesis of the crisis
Jean-Paul Dubreuil would have, according to several concordant sources, firmly criticized in Christine Ourmeres ” The downgrading of the Caribbean air in terms of punctuality, as well as the loss of efficiency of customer service ”.
However, during the creation and development of Air Caraïbes, Jean-Paul Dubreuil was particularly attached to what the inhabitants “appropriate” in an emotional manner the company. Suffice to say that customer service, satisfaction and therefore punctuality were considered by the founder as essential elements and to heal in particular.
It was therefore not eligible for the founder to let the group's airline scores pass.

Financial results, lower than forecasts, would also have disappointed.

On Sunday January 12, 2025, the case already seems well advanced….
The spirits are torn between the bad news for the air group, on the one hand, and the feat of the skipper Sébastien Simon in the Vendée Globe, on the other, which highlights the Dubreuil group and its Frenchbee and Air companies Caribbean.

On Friday, January 17, 2025, the Dubreuil family is celebrating.
Below, all close members on the Imoca bridge sponsored by the Dubreuil group.
In the middle, bare head, Paul-Henri Dubreuil, and on his left Jean-Paul Dubreuil (with navy blue cap) founder of the aeronautical group.
On the far left of the photo, lit by the sun, the sympathetic François Dubreuil, cousin of the CEO, aerobatic pilot and captain on Aibus, creator of the Vendée Air Show.
Squatting with beige hat, Sébastien Simon skipper.

Sébastien Simon

10 days after our OFF, the Dubreuil group confirmed by press release the resumption of the management of airlines (Dubreuil aero GDA group) by Paul-Henri Dubreuil, up to further reflection.
On Saturday January 18, 2025, 6 days ago, the Dubreuil celebrated the podium of Sébastien Simon on the Imoca Groupe Dubreuil. 200 people were invited by the “patriarch” to his Vendée property near Sables-d'Olonne.
The mind was at gaiety, thanks to the sporting feat of Sablais Sébastien Simon.
Between the few initiates present of the family, the conversation must have, sometimes, bounce back on the dramatic coup which was going to be officially revealed four days later.
CA from Frenchbee: € 450 million
CA of Caribbean Air: € 600 million

Philippe Brossard-Lotz
Sablais reporter