Air France celebrated its return to Seattle on 25 March last, and intends to look after the business travellers who will be accompanying it on this transatlantic route. Visit Boeing 777-200 chosen by the airline are equipped with the new long-haul cabins. In addition, Air France's initial programme already includes up to five flights a week between Paris-CDG and Seattle during peak full stops - Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays - but the airline's managers are not hiding their ambitions on this route. " The aim is to achieve a daily frequencyat least during the summer, as it's a fairly seasonal destination "confides Pierre-Olivier BandetExecutive Vice President in charge of Programmes and Fleet at Air France.
It has to be said that "Sea-TacSeattle airport has changed a great deal since the French airline left in 2012 after five years of service. The hub has risen from 19th to 9th place in North America, and no fewer than 47 million passengers were recorded there last year. This is clearly just the beginning, since a new international terminal is planned for the end of 2019, which should double the capacity of the existing infrastructure, while improving the passenger experience.
It's true that the destination has a definite business potential, which has not escaped the attention of Air France. With employers such as Boeing, Starbucks, Microsoftor AmazonSeattle has the potential to attract business travellers from all over Europe. However, it is on the US market that French carrier Air France could rely to perpetuate and develop the route: " According to Delta's current figures, 65% of customers on this route are from the United States. The centre of gravity of the customer base is therefore tilting more towards the United States at the moment. "says Pierre-Olivier Bandet.
A fast-growing catalogue of destinations
The inauguration of the Paris-Seattle route is part of a sustained growth dynamic for the Air France network over the coming months. Indeed, the airline increases its offer by 3.7 % during the 2018 summer season, which ends on 27 October: a record for the carrier, which is offering no fewer than 50 new routes for the summer period. This surge in capacity is mainly due to long-haul services (+4.4 %). In addition to the service to Seattle, there are flights to Nairobi - also launched on 25 March - and Taipei. Taiwan airport will be linked to CDG from 16 April. Just as you'd expect, Joon is also contributing to the group's ambitions. Air France's "little sister" has already been entrusted with services to Cairo, Cape Town and Teheran, with Mumbai to follow on 18 June. In addition, Joon will inaugurate services to Fortaleza and Mahé at the beginning of May.
To keep up this pace, Air France has not opted for a massive acquisition of new aircraft. Instead, the airline is relying on a optimised use of its fleetIn addition, the airline has increased the time it uses its aircraft: 12 minutes per day on short-haul routes (+2.5 %), 45 minutes on medium-haul routes (+7 %) and 30 minutes on long-haul routes (+3.3 %).
This ambitious summer season will come to a close at the end of October. Between now and then, the Group's management is due to announce in June the outlines of a new strategic plan which will take over from Trust Together. It remains to be seen what course Air France will choose in an increasingly competitive environment.
