Interview with : Anne Rigail, Chief Executive Officer of Air France

What is your assessment of the first year of this governance alongside Benjamin Smith?

Anne Rigail - With Ben SmithA climate of trust has been established with our employees and our social partners. Its business knowledge has greatly facilitated relations with all the staff, who are proud to have a management team that understands and respects their profession. I'm not saying that this wasn't the case before, but the dialogue It's easier when you're connected to these businesses yourself. We can now address all the issues in a calm manner, and put in place a appropriate marketing strategy. The new governance works collectively: it is not a matter of defining a fixed strategy and then going to negotiate, but rather of preparing strategy for negotiations so that everyone is fully involved. The arrival of Ben Smith has also brought a fresh, Anglo-Saxon perspective to all aspects of the business. His foreign" point of view on the French Touch has enabled us to better measure its impact. Ben Smith also has an in-depth knowledge of the market, which is very challenging for us. Airline strategy is not based on grand speeches. It's about making the right choices in terms of fleet, cabin configuration, programme, markets, with the right product. So there are a lot of demands on what we produce.

How do you see the future of the airline industry: will consolidation reduce the market to a dozen or so global airlines?

Anne Rigail - The market is extremely fragmented in Europe, and particularly in France, with, for example, ten or so airlines on the Paris- Paris route.New York. Even on the London-New York route, which is the world's leading route, there is no such competition. Concentration is coming. Will this lead to a reduction to three or four companies in Europe, as has happened in the United States? It is perhaps a little early to say.

Has the long-haul low-cost model shown its limitations?

Anne Rigail - We are keeping a close eye on this model, given its growth rates, and have been following Primera's collapse, Wow Air or XL Airways. On long-haul flights, the margin of cost improvement is less important than on medium or short-haul routes, since there is no opportunity to make significant gains in terms of aircraft utilisation. Legacy airlines such as Air France have done a lot of work on a more efficient use of their aircraft. highly efficient use of the fleet. The difference in costs is therefore based on a smaller base.

We want to offer business travellers the chance to spend one or two nights in their destination and give them easier access to bleisure.

Does an airline like Air France have enough flexibility today to deal with these airlines?

Anne Rigail - We've already come a long way. In terms of pricing, the launch of branded faresthese customised rates with the possibility of offering tickets without baggage, has positioned us well. If we compare our first fares with those of the low-cost carriers, all things being equal, our offers are very attractive. In terms of our offer, we are continuing to invest heavily in the personalisation to meet the needs of our customers. We will also be expanding our partnershipsWe want to offer business travellers the chance to spend one or two nights in their destination, and make it easier for them to access their destination. We want to offer business travellers the chance to spend one or two nights in their destination and make it easier for them to access the bleisure during a business trip. So it's not just a question of offering dry fares at the lowest possible price. individualised relevanceare designed to make it even more attractive.

What future do you envisage for alliances, given that the joint-venture format seems to be the preferred option these days?

Anne Rigail - The two formats are complementary. Partnerships and joint ventures are extremely powerful tools for broadening the range of products and services we offer our customers. The transatlantic JV that brings together Air France-KLM Delta, Alitaliaand soon Virgin Atlantic is very powerful, with more than 300 transatlantic flights a day. It allows us to offer our customers an unrivalled choice of timetables and routes. However alliances continue to play their role. They provide continuity of experience from one company to another, guaranteeing a homogenous offer.

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To what extent does the arrival of the A350 in the Air France fleet also fit in with this logic of consistency of offer?

Anne Rigail - L'arrival of theA350 enables us to offer our customers a top-quality productjust like the Dreamliner, or the Airbus A220 which will offer major benefits in terms of space, seat comfort and light on short and medium-haul routes. This is part of the Air France's global strategy. The demand in terms of comfort, gastronomy "premiumising travel has risen sharply on the transatlantic route, all cabins combined. In the past, Asian airlines and Gulf carriers were at the forefront of experience and challenged us in the East. Today, American and Canadian carriers are also emphasising this 'premiumisation'. For us, it is therefore an absolute priority to have cabins and service of the highest standard throughout our network, and particularly on the transatlantic route.

Rail can be an alternative on short-haul routes, but much less so on medium-haul routes.

Are you thinking of developing a partnership between air and rail in an environmentally-friendly way?

Anne Rigail - We spend agreements with the train for decades. Today, it is obviously a competitor on certain routes, but also a partner on many others, in particular for supplying airports. Our major issue with trains is the customer experience. Passengers arriving at Gare Montparnasse have to take a taxi or the RER to Roissy with their luggage. At best, they find a train to CDG, but not necessarily one with end-to-end check-in... We would like to work on connecting stations whether on Orlywhere things are going to improve, but above all on our Roissy hub. We are working with Aéroports de Paris and the SNCF on the development of infrastructure at Roissy, and in particular on the launch of the Terminal 4We would like to offer customers arriving by train a much smoother connection. We'd like them to be able to drop off their baggage as soon as they arrive at the platform, and to be able to go straight to boarding without having to go through check-in, as we already offer on the departure of Brussels with the Air&Rail product. It is possible to redesigning infrastructure to significantly improve the connection between train and plane. Trains can be an alternative on short-haul routes, but much less so on medium-haul routes. We know the scale of the investment required to create new rail lines, and it is not certain that this aspect can be financially developed immediately. So it would be better to work on a partnership between rail and air.

have the face replace the passport throughout the airport journey

What about biometrics?

Anne Rigail -It's a subject we're passionate about. The system PARAFE has already made it possible to significantly reduce queues at border crossings, and this will improve still further as we are asking that theeligibility or expanded to other nationalities, particularly in North America. These are regulatory changes that can make a major contribution to the customer experience and the fluidity of the customer journey. We are going to launch tests in Paris to join the biometrics to the baggage drop-offto speed up the process. The idea is for the face to replace the passport throughout the airport journey. We can already see in some airports, such as Los Angeles, that the entire journey can benefit from biometrics. There remains the regulatory issue ofaccess to data. The use of biometrics must be developed in full compliance with the law. regulations RGPD.