How is Air Caraïbes faring?
Edmond Richard - Air Caraïbes is subject to a fierce competition between mainland France and the Caribbean, resulting in an increase of price war to which is added the surge in oil prices. oil. Against this backdrop, Air Caraïbes is holding up rather well. We carried 1.61 million passengers in 2018, and made a profit, albeit not as strong as in 2017 due to the impact of oil, but a profit nonetheless! In fact, it's our fourteenth profit over our fifteen years of existence. For the first few months of 2019, I can simply say that we are ahead of our budget estimates.
Your top story at the moment is the arrival in the fleet of the first Airbus A350. What can business travellers expect from it?
Edmond Richard - The commissioning of the first Airbus A350-900 Air Caraïbes on 29th July means greater comfort on board and increased frequencies on our various routes. First of all, the Airbus A350 offers a larger business class, with 18 seats instead of 12 on our current Airbus A330s. The aircraft will be introduced on the Paris-Cayenne route and we will gradually increase the number of flights from four to six a week between now and December. In fact, there is a real business demand - which represents roughly 20 to 25% of the total traffic on the line - due to the presence of the Kourou space centre. We are to receive two Airbus A350-1000s which will be put into service on Guadeloupe and Martinique. It will enableincrease our seat capacity by 10%. The Airbus A350 will also operate regular services to the Dominican Republic.
How is traffic at Saint Martin?
Edmond Richard - We're pleased to see that there's a real recovery demand. There are all these reconstruction sites in the island after the typhoon of 2017, and this is generating significant business flows. We are also now seeing a return in leisure traffic. As a result, we are increasing the number of direct weekly frequencies to Paris from two to three, operated by a completely reconfigured Airbus A330-200. Alternatively, we are offering a daily flight via Pointe à Pitre.
Are you increasing your capacity in other destinations this winter?
Edmond Richard - We will be offering more frequencies or more seats on certain destinations, including Cuba and we will regularly serve Port au Prince and Punta Cana by Airbus A350.
How do you win the loyalty of business customers with so much competition on the Paris-Caribbean route?
Edmond Richard - We have launched Flexilproa product of business loyalty which is in fact a prepaid card corresponding to a ticket credit. This credit can be spent on the entire Air Caraïbes transatlantic network, as well as on intra-Caribbean regional routes. Flexilpro enables SMEs to make real savings. For example, ten return credits are needed for a Paris-Antilles flight in economy class, equivalent to 750 euros, with the guarantee of being able to modify the ticket, be reimbursed if cancelled, transfer it free of charge to another employee and benefit from a second piece of hold baggage. For Premium Economy class, 28 credits are required, corresponding to a fare of 2.114 euros. Our loyalty product Preferences has now been extended to include French Bee, allowing you to earn miles on routes to Reunion Island, Polynesia and the French Polynesian islands. San Francisco.
