On 20 July, just a few days after a favourable vote by the pilots, Air France made official the identity of a new airline, to be called "Joon. The phonetic proximity to " young people "sets the tone for the positioning aimed for by this new player. Dominique Wood, Executive Vice President Brand and Communications at Air France, explains: " With Joon, we have created a young, connected brand that will give new impetus to the Group. Designed with our millennial customers in mind, it will offer more than just a flight time and a fare - it will be a total travel experience. ".
However, Air France refuses to describe its new brand as a low-cost airline. " Joon will not be a low-cost airline because it is a offbeat offer whose quality standards remain loyal to those of Air France "warns the press release. Instead of low-cost status, Air France officials prefer the term "low-cost". lifestyle brand "and evoke " a state of mind "supposed to be embodied by a "c" nameourt, punchy and international (...) designed to appeal to the whole world ".
For the time being, the French group is being tight-lipped about the details of this new product: " See you in September for more details on the brand's universe, offer, destinations and price range! "says Dominique Wood. The only certainty is that Joon will begin its medium-haul operations from this autumn, to the Iberian Peninsula. The airline will then head for long-haul network in summer 2018. The brand's visual identity will be based on " on an electric blue colour code that expresses the company's dynamism, but also symbolises the sky, space and travel ".
a historic moment for several reasons
" Joon is a new stage in the deployment of the Trust Together strategic plan "explains Franck Terner, Chief Executive Officer of Air France. a historic moment for several reasons" . " Its creation will improve the profitability of the Air France group, enabling it to reduce its costs and thus ensure the sustainability of its business model.. Finally, the Group's management describes Joon as " Air France's complementary little sister, which will encourage customers to travel with its older sister too" .
With this new entity, Air France is following in the footsteps of other traditional airlines, in search of new sources of revenue and determined to counter-attack the low-cost carriers which are attacking long-haul routes, such as Norwegian. Le IAG Group (International Airlines Group) has also launched Level in the month of last June. With the - subtle - difference that the parent company of British Airways and Iberia has not hesitated to label its new offer as a low-cost airline.
