Totallyriviera.com records 40% of property sales to city highfliers

The new CityJet flight (daily except Saturdays) from London City Airport to Nice has opened up the Riviera to London's bonus-rich city workers. The airport, a short taxi ride or DLR hop away from the Square Mile, will benefit those who previously had to travel to busy hubs such as Stansted, Gatwick and Heathrow. The timetable is structured so that the area's financial staff can head out on the 2.15pm afternoon flight and be through the gate in Nice by 5.30pm, or spend the day in France then return to London by 7pm in the evening.

"City employees have made up 40% of our revenues along the Cote d’Azur since the new CityJet flights started" says TotallyRiviera Managing Director Dennis Broadfield. "Most opt for prestigious, completely renovated apartments within 15 minutes of Nice airport so they can fly out on Friday afternoon in time for a swim, drink and dinner, then return home on Sunday evening."

FlyBe's new regional offerings from Southampton (Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays) and Exeter (Wednesdays and Saturdays) brings the total number of UK airports flying direct to Nice to 16. With links from all five London airports, the French Riviera is amongst the best served second-home destination in Europe.

"The regionals are key to any overseas property company's success" claims Broadfield. "It's all very well owning in Bulgaria, rural France or northern Spain, but if the weekly Stansted flight ceased to exist the owner would be struggling for both access and rental income. Nice receives over 40 flights a day from 16 UK destinations, including four Luton flights, four Heathrow flights and up to six per day from Gatwick".