Air France

On Tuesday 21 July, four of the world's largest carriers - American Airlines, IAG, Lufthansa and United Airlines - asked the European Commission and the White House to set up a programme for testing passengers to determine whether they are negative for COVID-19. Such a measure would encourage a resumption of travel between...

At a time when Paris was putting pressure on Beijing to grant Air France-KLM as many flights between China and France as Chinese airlines, i.e. three weekly connections, the French airline received notification yesterday that it had been authorised to operate a second flight between Paris and Shanghai, a new weekly service which should begin as early as this week...

The Air France group's restructuring plan today confirms the closure of some of its domestic routes, in order to meet the target of reducing capacity on the French domestic network by 40% by the end of 2021. This was one of the conditions laid down by the French government for financial support totalling seven billion euros, of which...

Air France is stepping up a gear as summer approaches. The airline has set a target of 150 destinations connected this summer, representing 80% of its network. However, the programme will logically remain limited: at the end of the month, 20% of the usual capacity will be operational. The ratio will reach 35% in July, and 40%...

Is it a bluff or a helping hand for the Minister of the Economy? On 24 May, Bruno Le Maire announced a €7 billion package which, in his words, "is not a blank cheque. We have set Air France profitability conditions, because it's the French people's money...

Another victim of the Covid-19 pandemic, Air France's fleet of nine Airbus A380s will not be returned to service once the crisis is over for the carrier. Air France had decided to ground these nine aircraft at the start of the pandemic, but the crisis hastened the decision to stop operating them. Originally,...

Following in the footsteps of British Airways, the Lufthansa group, TAP Air Portugal and KLM, Air France has now revealed which airlines it will be reintroducing into service, although the programme is still subject to the uncertainties associated with the lifting of travel restrictions. The flight schedule is valid until the end of the month...

Unsurprisingly, the Air France-KLM group's balance sheet, examined on 6 May by the group's Board of Directors, has been shaken by the Covid-19 effect. According to the figures unveiled by the airline group, operating income of €815 million is €529 million down on the previous year, a decline "entirely due to the impact of the Covid...

The announcement of a €7 billion support plan for Air France, made official on 24 April, included a number of quid pro quos, and the environmental aspect was explicitly targeted. Wednesday's comments by Bruno Le Maire confirmed the creditor's demands of the company, emphasising that "this support for Air France is not a condition for the...

As confirmed on 24 April by the management of the Franco-Dutch group, France will release a €7 billion package to ensure the survival of the Air France KLM group. Most of this aid (four billion) will be based on a loan guaranteed by the French State, which provides for two one-year extension options....

Since last Monday, the French airline has been distributing masks at the entrance to aircraft to passengers who are not already wearing them, a measure introduced for flights on which social distancing between passengers is not possible. The company was recently singled out for criticism by a France 2 report showing the lack of...

A 56.6% fall in the number of passengers carried, traffic down 50.6%, a load factor down 20.5 pts: unsurprisingly, the figures published by the Air France-KLM group for March were largely impacted by the global spread of the Covid-19 virus. And this is certainly not because the...

The total capacity of the Air France and KLM entities is now down by 90%. This measure is scheduled to last for two months, although the group will have the option of adjusting capacity as the situation develops. During this period, one of the key measures is the grounding of Air France...

There's a whiff of the 1970s about air services between France and Algeria. A time when Air France shared with its counterpart Air Algérie the monopoly of air links between the two countries. Today, the situation is virtually the same as it was 50 years ago. Following the redistribution...

Air transport is one of the most fragmented industries on the planet. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) lists nearly 800 airlines worldwide. This is a staggering figure when compared with the automotive industry, a highly concentrated sector with 90 % of the market share in the...

British Airways was the first to announce the suspension of its flights to Beijing and Shanghai on 28 January, followed by the Lufthansa group - including Austrian Airlines and Swiss - on 29 January. Air France in turn suspended its operations to China on 30 January, but will be operating special flights to...

Ben Smith was quick to announce the colour of his appointment: his presidency will be marked by a move upmarket in Air France's offer, in particular to match the image of luxury and elegance conveyed by the French flag. This is the rationale behind the deployment of Business on the domestic network...

Air France's move upmarket is now being extended to destinations in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean region. Over the course of the year, the airline will be gradually rolling out new travel cabins on the 10 Boeing 777-300s mainly destined for this network. The first aircraft equipped with these cabins took to the skies on 15...

It was one of the events awaited by business travellers on the Air France network at the start of 2020, particularly for their business trips from Orly to business destinations such as New York or Algiers: on Thursday 16 January, the airline's brand new lounge opened its doors in Terminal 3 at...

What is your assessment of the first year of this governance alongside Benjamin Smith? Anne Rigail - With Ben Smith, a climate of trust has been established with our employees and our social partners. His knowledge of the business has greatly facilitated relations with all our staff, who are now proud to have a management team that knows their business...