Air France oferece champagne e chocolate em seus vôos

A Air France servirá aproximadamente 90 mil garrafas de champagne nos seus vôos para comemorar o Ano Novo. A bebida é servida a todos os passageiros, independentemente da classe, nos vôos para a América do Norte, América do Sul, África, Oriente Médio e Ásia, bem como nos vôos de média duração, aos passageiros das Classes Executiva e Tempo Challenge.

A companhia oferecerá também 200 mil chocolates para seus passageiros nos próximos dias, 100 mil apenas nos vôos de curta duração. Nos dias 24 e 31 dezembro de 2008, a companhia oferecerá chocolates também a todos seus passageiros a bordo dos vôos de longa duração. Uma caixa de quatro chocolates Lenôtre será oferecida aos passageiros da Primeira Classe. Uma caixa de seis chocolates da Valrhona será entregue aos passageiros da Classe Executiva. Os passageiros da Classe Econômica recebrão o chocolate Lindor em suas bandejas de refeição.

Nos vôos de média distância na Europa, os chocolates Valrhona serão oferecidos aos passageiros das classes Executiva e Econômica, dependendo do horário de partida dos vôos em Paris. Chocolates amargo e ao leite da Lindt serão entregues em toda a rede francesa nos dias 24 e 25 de dezembro e 1° de janeiro. No lounge da Primeira Classe localizado no aeroporto de Paris - Charles de Gaulle será oferecido aos passageiros uma caixa de chocolates Cluizel, que os passageiros também poderão apreciar a bordo ao longo do ano.

China Southern: First Olympic Flight Attendants

China Southern Airlines, the largest airline in The People's Republic of China is pleased to announce the set up the First Olympic Flight Attendant Etiquette Mission in the Chinese aviation industry. The newly recruited thirty-four "prospective stewardesses" of China Southern Airlines, who are former Beijing Olympic hostesses, appeared in their inauguration ceremony, wearing Chinese silk dresses with their hair pulled back tightly into neat buns. These beaming young girls promised to bring Olympic-style courteous reception to airline services and continue to commit themselves to voluntary work during the Guangzhou 2010 Asia Games.

In order provide good career prospects for Olympic hostesses, China Southern Airlines announced to recruit Olympic hostess as flight attendants and launched a job fair exclusively for candidates, which attracted thousands of applicants. Girls bidding to become the "air hostess" were carefully selected according to the results of an English test and face-to-face interview. It is reported that the first batch of applicants are eligible to take part in initial newly hired flight attendants training and will formally join China Southern Airlines after successfully finishing the training courses that include inflight services, cabin safety and professional etiquette.

The qualified new flight attendants will be based either in Beijing or Guangzhou and are likely to be assigned to serve international long-haul routes on A380s in the future. They are expected to display elegance, confidence and professional attitude during inflight services.

What makes the Air France-KLM model so exceptional?

Under their mutual agreement, a holding company was set up by Air France and KLM. However, both carriers were allowed to continue operating independently, keeping their own logos, trademarks and brands, as well as their own management jurisdiction, resource distribution and staffing.

Industrial insiders are of the opinion that it was wise for the carriers to keep their own logos, trademarks and brands, because for a corporate entity, to relinquish the brand and image it has built up with so much effort over the decades is comparable to the act of suicide.

It has been proven that over the subsequent three years following the integration, both Air France and KLM have enjoyed an apparent edge in terms of route complementation, price management and fleet acquisition. And this has put the group a notch above its peers in the global aviation market--reigning supreme in Europe, second in North America, and an impressive 12%-13% market share in Asia.

The merger has also spawned a win-win situation as Air France and KLM have since launched the "combo ticket" package which allows their passengers to enjoy unbeatable air fares.

The successful merger between Air France and KLM has offered a major insight for aviation operators worldwide.

We should take note of what Air France-KLM board chairman CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta once said: merger and equity participation are only a beginning, the crucial factor to the new entity's success lies very much in how it will move forward from here, and how the corporate cultures, management philosophies, service networks and passenger resources of individual carriers should be integrated in the future.

Air France-KLM Chief Spinetta Quits After 11 Years

Pierre-Henri Gourgeon has been appointed chief executive officer of Air France-KLM (AF-KLM) by its board of directors from 1 January 2009. He has likewise been appointed CEO of Air France (AF) effective 1 January.

From the same date, Jean-Cyril Spinetta will remain in his position as chairman of the board of directors of AF-KLM and AF, but will cease to exercise the duties of CEO.

During Spinetta's term the company returned to profit from near-bankruptcy in the mid-1990s and became Europe's biggest airline group with the purchase of KLM in 2004.

“After 11 years as chief executive of Air France, and then Air France-KLM, I felt it necessary to propose an internal solution that would guarantee continuity of governance, in view of the difficult economic climate facing us,” Spinetta said. “This way, we will protect the group’s interests, while abiding by the principles which have underpinned its constitution and will remain relevant going forward.”

His successor Gourgeon has been COO since April 1998 and deputy CEO of Air France-KLM since June 2004. Educated at Paris École Polytechnique and the École Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique, he also holds a master of sciences degree from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and qualified as a fighter pilot at the French Air Force Academy.

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