Unions call for 5-day Air France strike

Unions have called for Air France flight personnel to stage a five-day strike starting Tuesday to protest a plan to push back their retirement age.

The eight unions threaten an even longer work stoppage if the plan is not withdrawn.

They say in a statement released Thursday that a planned government amendment to the draft law for financing the social security system in 2009 would push back the age of retirement for Air France flight staff from 55 to 65.

Autoridades dos EUA aprovam fusão Delta - Norhtwest Airlines

O Ministério da Justiça dos Estados Unidos aprovou nesta quarta-feira a fusão entre as companhias aéreas Delta Airlines e Northwest Airlines, estimando que seria benéfica para os consumidores, e que não afetaria "substancialmente" a livre concorrência.

A fusão, aprovada por esmagadora maioria pelos acionistas de ambas as empresas, deverá ficar concluída até o final do ano, havia afirmado a Delta há duas semanas.

KLM and Malaysia Airlines celebrate their 10 year partnership

More than a million passengers have benefited from a truly global network combination.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Malaysia Airlines on October 14th celebrated 10 years of successful partnership. What started with codesharing on the route between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur, has now evolved into an extensive code pact with benefits for the passengers of both airlines.

Malaysia Airlines and KLM started their codeshare cooperation on the route between Kuala Lumpur and Amsterdam in October 1998. Soon, Malaysia Airlines’ passengers were able to use KLM’s network in Europe to travel to Scandinavia, Belgium and other destinations. KLM passengers benefited from Malaysia Airlines’ network in South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and domestic network in Malaysia. Today the airlines’ two frequent flyer programs, Enrich and Flying Blue, extend benefits to all frequent flyers of both airlines.

The partnership with KLM has strengthened Malaysia's position in Europe and this cooperation is a proven success formula which forms a sound basis for a continued partnership with KLM in the future.

The celebration of the 10th anniversary took place during The World Route Development Forum at Kuala Lumpur, the world-renowned annual airline and airport networking event.
Malaysia Airlines and KLM currently operate Boeing 747 flights daily between KLIA and Schiphol, offering a weekly capacity of over 5000 seats in each direction.

Air France To Suspend Direct Paris-Tehran Flights

Europe's largest airline, Air France-KLM, announced that slumping global passenger traffic would make it difficult for the company to meet profit targets and that economic conditions forced it to suspend direct flights from Paris to Tehran, Iran.

The direct flights will be suspended at the end of October. But the company will increase its weekly Amsterdam - Tehran flights from four to five, with passengers able to use the 15 daily flights between Paris and Amsterdam to connect.

Airline officials reportedly expect to resume the direct flights when financial conditions improve.

Airline passenger traffic fell in September, according to the (IATA) International Air Transport Association. It was the first drop in five years.

The fact that it is affecting Air France, known as the world's most profitable and best-managed airline makes it likely that other airlines will be more severely affected.

Delta Air Lines to open new City Ticket Office in Kuwait City

At the beginning of next month, Delta Air Lines will officially open a new City Ticket Office (CTO) in Kuwait City ahead of the start of its first nonstop flight between Kuwait City and Atlanta.

New Ticket Office
Delta’s new ticket office will be located on the Mezzanine level of the Baitak Tower, Al Safat Street, Kuwait City, in the heart of the business, financial and commercial centre and will handle reservations and ticketing for passengers wishing to purchase tickets for travel on Delta. The office will be open from Saturday to Thursday from 8.30 am to 7.30 pm. A dedicated reservations number has also been set up for customers and is +965 2 225 7925.

The airline is preparing to launch its first non-stop flight between Kuwait City and Atlanta on 8 November. The flight will operate four weekly services between Kuwait and the United States offering hundreds of onward connecting opportunities offered via Delta’s Atlanta hub.

Passengers on Delta’s flights between Atlanta and Kuwait travel on Boeing 777-200ER aircraft.

On flights to and from Kuwait, Delta’s service also features Arabic-speaking flight attendants, in-flight movies with Arabic subtitles, as well as Halal meal options in BusinessElite and Middle Eastern selections in economy.

An Alliance Between…Airports?

We have all heard of airline alliances like Star Alliance, SkyTeam, and oneworld, but what about an alliance between airports? Obviously some airports already work together as they are managed by the same large group. But now, Aeroports de Paris (who operates CDG and ORY) and the Schipol Group (operates AMS) have decided to form an alliance and will invest 8% in each other, and some committees will be formed to facilitate the cooperation. The alliance is initially supposed to last for twelve years.

The airports hope to work together on things on the group like airport retail, and it looks like they are looking to standardize some infrastructure and save money by purchasing things together. But they also hope to work together in terms of airlines. These airports should ring a bell for most - SkyTeam, specifically Air France-KLM. ORY and CDG are major Air France Hubs, and AMS is KLM’s major hub. The press release mentions this in a couple of places:

Aeroports de Paris and Schiphol Group will jointly approach future international airport developments with a key focus on strengthening the dual hub within SkyTeam network internationally and have an opportunistic approach in non SkyTeam zones.

Additionally, Schiphol Group and Aéroports de Paris expect the cooperation to strengthen their relationship and integration with their largest clients, among which Air France-KLM, through optimized connectivity between the two airports, aligned processes and best-in-class airside operations and infrastructures (e.g. luggage sorting systems, baggage tracking device). The alliance will also improve the competitiveness of both airports vis-à-vis specialized or regional hubs and enhance their market attractiveness for all carriers by offering more frequencies to markets such as Eastern Europe and South America.

This idea is quite intriguing to me and I think it can be good for the airlines (specifically Air France-KLM), but also consumers. The release mentions that “both partners will also cooperate to develop more attractive retail areas and customer experience.” Hopefully this move can lead to a better airport experience for passengers. I’m certainly looking forward to seeing how this works out, and I wonder if any other airports will try to do the same.

KLM suspends Amsterdam-Hyderabad service

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is suspending its Amsterdam–Hyderabad service, effective February 1, 2009. KLM launched flights to this destination in October 2005 in anticipation of a growth in traffic to India.

KLM is suspending this service in response to financial results of this route and local market developments.

 

All passengers will be booked onto other flights.

 

KLM continues to serve the Indian market with daily services to both Mumbai and Delhi.

 

KLM and its partners will continue to focus on India, operating direct flights from Amsterdam and Paris to Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Madras.

Delta plans Atlanta-Liberia route

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), the only U.S. network carrier to serve Africa, today announced it will expand its service to the African continent with the introduction of the first and only flight between Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Monrovia's Roberts International Airport, Liberia*. The service, which will make a stop at Amilcar Cabral International Airport on Sal Island, Cape Verde*, will start in June, 2009.

Currently, Delta offers service between the United States and six African destinations with flights between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Accra, Ghana; Dakar, Senegal; Cairo, Egypt, and Cape Town in South Africa (via Dakar) and between Atlanta and Lagos, Nigeria, and Johannesburg, South Africa (via Dakar).

Delta's new service between Atlanta and Monrovia will be operated using a Boeing 757 aircraft with up to 174 seats in a two-cabin configuration -- 16 seats in Delta's award-winning BusinessElite service and 158 seats in economy class. Delta's BusinessElite service features all-leather sleeper seats, innovative food offerings from celebrity chef Michelle Bernstein and award-winning, original wine selections chosen by Delta's Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson. Economy class customers also benefit from new all-leather economy seats, amenity kits and enhanced food offerings.

Delta's service between Atlanta and Monrovia will operate once weekly as follows:

------------- --------------------------- --------------------------
FLIGHT              DEPARTS**                   ARRIVES**
------------- --------------------------- --------------------------
DL 214           Atlanta                     Sal Island, Cape Verde
                        at 3:10 p.m.                       at 2:15 a.m.
------------- --------------------------- --------------------------
DL 214        Sal Island, Cape Verde      Monrovia, Liberia
                        at 3:20 a.m.                      at 7:05 a.m.
------------- --------------------------- --------------------------
DL 215       Monrovia, Liberia          Sal Island, Cape Verde
                        at 8:10 a.m.                        at 9:55 a.m.
------------- --------------------------- --------------------------
DL 215          Sal Island, Cape Verde           Atlanta
                        at 11:25 a.m.                     at 5:15 p.m.
------------- --------------------------- --------------------------
*Subject to government approval.
** Schedule subject to change

Delta Museum Airline open to the public

If you’re an aviation collector or you’ve always wanted to be, bring your family and friends to the Delta Air Transport Heritage Museum at World Headquarters to check out the Atlanta Airline Collectibles Show and Sale this weekend.

The show, open to the public, will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday October 18th. This is the one day of the year the museum is open to the general public without prior reservations.

More than 30 vendors are expected for the event, selling aviation-related items ranging from airplane seats to models and playing cards. You’ll also have a chance to tour Boeing 767 “The Spirit of Delta” and shop at the museum store.

Admission to the show is $5 for adults. Children under 12 will be admitted free. Visitors should enter through a special gate on the south end of the World Headquarters campus, off Woolman Place, near the Renaissance Hotel, the official hotel of the Show.

For more information about the event, see the Delta Museum website and this Atlanta Journal Constitution story.

Air France wants to increase Indian presence

Air France will consider deploying the A380 in India "when the airport infrastructure at the Mumbai and Delhi airports supports the aircraft," which also would require a renegotiation of AF's rights with the Indian government, Senior VP-International Jean-Louis Pinson told. AF has 12 A380s on firm order and currently serves Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai. "We want Air France to be a preferred European airline for the Indian passenger and we are looking at a long-term investment in this market as the market has strong growth potential," Pinson said, adding that the carrier plans to codeshare with either Jet Airways or Kingfisher Airlines.

Air France to launch Heathrow-JFK services

Air France is to end its services between Heathrow and Los Angeles, introduced after the advent of the open skies agreement earlier this year. The slots and planes this makes available will be used to launch services on the Heathrow-New York JFK route, in competition with British Airways, American Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. Air France will offer a three-class service.

The change will mean that from summer 2009, SkyTeam airlines will offer three services a day on the route, with two operated by Delta. Delta's existing JFK services will be upgraded to Boeing 767-400ER aircraft fitted with 40 new fully flat seats in BusinessElite. The seats recline to 77-inch long beds in a one-two-one configuration giving every passenger direct aisle access.

Air France will refund or reroute LAX-Heathrow fliers

Air France,  which on Nov. 6, 2008, will stop flying between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)  and London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR), is offering to reroute ticket holders or give them refunds.

Nicolas Petteau, spokesman for Air France in Paris, said the last LAX-Heathrow flight will be Nov. 5 and the last Heathrow-LAX flight will be Nov. 6.  He said the airline is contacting passengers booked after those dates and offering them three choices:

1. Fly LAX to Paris (Charles de Gaulle, CDG) with Air France and connect to Heathrow.

2. Connect to New York (John F. Kennedy International Airport, JFK) or Atlanta (ATL) and then fly to Heathrow with Delta Air Lines, Air France’s SkyTeam partner.

3. Get a full refund.

Air France, which added the LAX-Heathrow route March 30, has said that “the present economic and financial crisis”  prompted its decision to cancel it.  Several other airlines this year also added transatlantic flights as the new open skies agreement took effect. But now many carriers are cutting back on both domestic and international service.

Air France Ends an ‘Open Skies’ Experiment

Air France is dropping its Los Angeles-London non-stop flight, taking with it some of the cheapest tickets available to London.

It’s rare for airlines to fly internationally without at least beginning or ending the flight at one of their hub airports. You usually need connecting passengers to fill big jets. But Los Angeles-London was an experiment for Air France, a trip the airline inaugurated with the passage of the Open Skies treaty between the U.S. and the European Union. Air France flies from Los Angeles to Paris, and decided to see if Los Angeles and London were big enough markets to support a once-a-day trip.

It’s still an experiment for Air France to see whether a French airline can build enough traffic in the U.S. and U.K. without a hub.

With the move, pricing will become rational again. Los Angeles-London tickets will actually be more expensive than New York-London. At least until another airline starts experimenting.

Air France comemora 75 anos com uniformes

     Uniforme de Balenciaga para a Air France

Elegância e fetiche se encontram nos uniformes de aeromoças. A Air France deve saber disso: no seu aniversário de 75 anos, a companhia preparou um site recheado de informações sobre a sua história – e um dos destaques é a parte dos uniformes.

O jogo de vestir a aeromoça com uniformes assinados por grandes estilistas diverte e informa – quando você completa um look, a foto dele aparece com explicações. Não é pouca coisa: a Air France já teve como estilistas-colaboradores gente do porte de Cristóbal Balenciaga, Andrés Courréges, e maisons como a Hermès.

Mas não foi só a Air France que usou dos serviços de estilistas ou que teve uniformes incríveis. No álbum de fotos dá para ver os uniformes criados por Emilio Pucci, Pierre Balmain, Gianfranco Ferré e mais.

Air France celebrates its 75th Anniversary on 7 October 2008

Air France is celebrating its 75th anniversary on 7 October 2008, commemorating its rise, since it was founded in 1933, to the position of one of the word’s greatest and most prestigious airlines.

Two books will be published to mark this occasion:

- the first, written by Philippe-Michel Thibault and Anaïs Leclerc, published by Gallimard as part of its prestigious Decouvertes collection, retraces 75 years of the Air France story; (128 pages, 12.50 euros). The book has been on sale since 2 October 2008.
 
- the second presents 75 recipes from Guy Martin, Head Chef of the prestigious Paris restaurant, Le Grand Véfour, and creator of the l’Espace Première menus of Air France since 2004.  The book will be on sale as from 9 October 2008 in the Beaux Livres collection, published by Cherche Midi (176 pages, 49 euros).

► Until 31 December 2008, Air France will be advertising on the façade of the Grand Palais: a canvas cover of 540 sq.m. advertising Air France has been installed on the 6,000 sq.m. of scaffolding on the façade of the Grand Palais facing the Seine and undergoing renovation work.

► Every week, since 14 August 2008, Air France has been screening 10 video films on its corporate website corporate.airfrance.com, each one recounting a chapter of the airline’s history.  The films combine scenes from the past and the present.

Programme until 24 October 2008:

“The Air France fleet”
“Life on board”
“Maintenance”
“Pilots” and ”Flight attendants”
“Ramp activity”
“Sales Force”
“Cargo” from 3 to 10 October 2008
“Airports” from 10 to 17 October 2008
“Air France Yesterday and Today” from 17 to 24 October 2008

► Furthermore, the website http://www.airfrancelasaga.com/ recounts the entire history of Air France through images from the archives.

Over time, Air France has embodied the image of an innovative, groundbreaking company. In the face of political and economic uncertainties, it has always been able to adapt so as to take an active part in the changing landscape of air transport. 

In the 1950s, Air France boasted the longest network in the world, and in the 1960s, it incorporated the first jets in its fleet, such as the Caravelle and Boeing 707. In 1970, Air France was one of the first airlines to put the world’s biggest passenger aircraft into service, the Boeing 747. 

In the 1990s, Air France overcame a tough operating environment by setting up the Paris-Charles de Gaulle hub, streamlining its network and fleet and reworking its ground and inflight products. 

In the early 2000s, Air France weathered a series of crises which hit the air transport sector, such as the 9/11 attacks and the SARS epidemic in Asia.

In 2004, Air France and KLM merged to become the world’s leading airline by revenue. This merger heralded the restructuring of the European airline business. 

Over time, Air France has also developed the image of an airline embodying the French lifestyle: cabin comfort and design, gourmet meals and designer tableware, discreet and attentive inflight service, and elegant flight attendants with uniforms designed by Dior, Balenciaga and even Christian Lacroix.

Facts and figures :

• Number of Air France aircraft:

- 1933: 259 aircraft
- 2007-2008: 411 aircraft

• Number of passengers carried:

- 1933: 52,100
- 2007-2008: 75 million (Air France and KLM)

• Example of the France – Saigon  route:

- 1933: from Marseille to Beirut by the Cams 53 seaplane via Naples, Corfu, Athens and Castelrosso. From Beirut to Damascus by car. From Damascus to Baghdad by Breguet 284 T, and finally by Fokker VII to Saigon with stops in Djask, Karachi, Jodhpur, Allahabad, Calcutta, Rangoon, Angkor and Bangkok. The trip lasted 10 days!

-  2008: direct Paris-Ho Chi Minh City flight with one stop in Bangkok. Flight time: 14 hours and 30 minutes.

Air France s’expose au Grand Palais

A l’occasion de son 75ème anniversaire, Air France s’expose au Grand Palais

A compter du 1er octobre 2008, pendant trois mois, une bâche publicitaire de 540 m² est installée sur les 6 000 m² d’échafaudage de la façade en cours de restauration située côté Seine du Grand Palais.

La bâche, créée pour l’anniversaire des 75 ans d'Air France, a été spécialement réalisée pour le Grand Palais et conçue par BETC Euro RSCG.

Le montant de la redevance publicitaire est entièrement affecté à la restauration de la Rotonde Alexandre III qui sera réalisée en 2009.

Cette publicité est la première application des nouvelles dispositions permettant l’affichage de publicité sur les façades en travaux des monuments historiques classés à Paris.

Flying Blue, programme de fidélisation leader en Europe

Le programme Flying Blue se décline en quatre niveaux : Ivory, Silver, Gold et Platinum.

Sur http://www.airfrance.fr/ et http://www.klm.com/, les adhérents peuvent consulter leur compte, y obtenir directement les billets prime, demander des régularisations ou encore avoir accès à des offres de primes promotionelles disponibles uniquement en ligne, les Web@wards.

En juin 2005, pour la première fois dans l’histoire du transport aérien, les programmes de fidélité de deux compagnies européennes majors ont fusionné pour n’en former qu’un seul. Ainsi, « Fréquence Plus » d’Air France et « Flying Dutchman » de KLM ont été réunis pour donner naissance à « Flying Blue ».

Flying Blue est l’un des dispositifs, avec la combinabilité tarifaire et le hubway qui relie 15 fois par jour les deux plates-formes de Roissy-CDG et d’Amsterdam-Schiphol, visant à facilité l’accès au réseau global d’Air France et de KLM. Aujourd’hui, fort de ses 13,5 millions de membres, réunissant 31 compagnies aériennes et plus de 100 partenaires non aériens, Flying Blue est un programme de fidélité d’autant plus attractif qu’il est le plus puissant d’Europe.

L’enjeu est important, quand on sait que le programme de fidélité d’une compagnie aérienne fait partie des trois premiers critères de choix des clients.

Air France lance sa première compilation musicale exclusive «In The Air»

Première compagnie aérienne à lancer une production musicale et une page dédiée sur MySpace : www.myspace.com/afintheair

Avec la production de sa toute première compilation musicale, Air France poursuit, en collaboration avec l’Agence BETC Euro RSCG et le label Village Vert, son invitation au voyage musical aux sonorités de bien-être et de sérénité initié il y a une dizaine d’années.

Composée de morceaux emblématiques des compilations déjà diffusées à bord et de trois morceaux inédits spécialement composées pour l’occasion (Hope Sandoval, Telepopmusik ou encore The Shoes featuring Kelly De Martino), cette compilation  reprend tout naturellement le titre du canal radio à bord : «In The Air».

Elle sera diffusée en version digitale accessible via les principales plate-formes de téléchargement légales (Compilation Air France « In The Air » disponible sur ItunesStore, Fnac.fr…), mais aussi sur le site MySpace à l’adresse http://www.myspace.com/afintheair.

 

Dès 1999, Air France a choisi d’illustrer sa nouvelle promesse «Faire du Ciel Le Plus Bel Endroit De La Terre» par un film publicitaire de Michel Gondry, dont la bande son composée par les Chemical Brothers accompagnés par la voix de la chanteuse américaine Hope Sandoval, permet de créer une véritable identité musicale de marque.

Fidèle à sa démarche d’innovation, Air France travaille l’habillage sonore à bord des avions*, en proposant régulièrement des sélections musicales pointues faisant appel à l’émotion, invitant au rêve et à la relaxation, comme un prolongement naturel du positionnement de la marque qui promet à ses passagers bien-être et ressourcement. Pour illustrer la dimension internationale de la Compagnie, les artistes présents sur ses sélections musicales proviennent des quatre coins du monde.

* Cette compilation sera diffusée prochainement lors des phases de roulage au décollage et à l’atterrissage.

Air France : le cargo d'hier et d'aujourd'hui

En 1933, année de naissance d’Air France, les avions utilisés par la Compagnie transportaient déjà du fret, même s’il ne s’agissait que de quelques kilos. 75 ans plus tard, les appareils cargo du type Boeing 747-400 ERF, dont Air France a été la compagnie de lancement, ont une capacité d’emport de 112 tonnes. Quant aux Boeing 777-300ER, ils peuvent emporter dans leurs soutes plus de 23 tonnes de fret et 325 passagers sur 11 000 kilomètres.

Cliquez ici pour la vidéo

Dans le domaine du cargo, Air France et KLM ont allié leurs forces en 2004 pour devenir le premier opérateur mondial hors intégrateurs, avec 2,91 milliards d´euros de chiffre d'affaires. En 2007-2008, Air France et KLM ont transporté 1,5 millions de tonnes de fret

Les deux compagnies sont également membres de SkyTeam Cargo, la plus importante Alliance mondiale de transporteurs aériens de Fret, qui couvre les principales routes commerciales stratégiques en étant présente sur 728 destinations dans le monde.

Pour aller plus loin
- l’activité Cargo d’Air France et de KLM
- le réseau Cargo d’Air France et de KLM
- les trois activités d’Air France : passage, cargo et maintenance
- la flotte cargo Air France
- AIR FRANCE KLM
- SkyTeam Cargo

Air France et Air Mauritius renforcent leur coopération

 

Manoj R K Ujoodha, G.O.S.K., directeur général d’Air Mauritius et Jean-Cyril Spinetta, président directeur général d’Air France, ont signé aujourd’hui à Port-Louis un nouvel accord portant sur une période initiale de cinq ans et visant à renforcer la coopération entre les deux compagnies.

 

Ce nouvel accord succède à celui conclu le 21 octobre 1998 et qui portait plus particulièrement sur la desserte entre Paris et Maurice, les deux compagnies exploitant ensemble jusqu’à 17 vols hebdomadaires sans escale entre Maurice et Paris.

  

Depuis le 1er octobre 2008, l’accord s’étend progressivement à de nouvelles destinations desservies par les deux compagnies. Air Mauritius pourra apposer son code sur les vols Air France en correspondance à Paris-CDG vers l’Europe, Israël et l’Afrique du Nord et, réciproquement, Air France pourra ainsi apposer son code sur les vols Air Mauritius en correspondance à Maurice.

 

En plus des 24 destinations déjà desservies en propre, Air Mauritius est, dans un premier temps, en mesure de proposer à ses clients des vols quotidiens en partage de code via le hub de Paris-CDG aux meilleures conditions tarifaires entre Maurice et plus de 35 nouvelles destinations en France, Grande Bretagne, Espagne, Allemagne, Russie, Autriche et Italie. Dans un second temps, d’autres destinations viendront étoffer l’offre d’Air Mauritius alors qu’Air France devrait proposer à ses clients des vols via le hub Maurice sur le réseau d’Air Mauritius dans l’océan indien.

 

L’accord prévoit également le développement commun et l’harmonisation des différentes gammes de produits et services proposés aux clients des deux compagnies, en vol et au sol, notamment aux aéroports Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam – Maurice et Paris-Charles de Gaulle.