p24 Air May 22 19/5/09 17:51 Page 24
Air
Chris Gray
020 7921 8003
cgray@ttglive.com
For the latest news about flights, airlines and airports, visit ttglive.com/air
Interview Christine Ourmieres, Air France-KLM
London-Nantes
‘We’re keeping
route revived
AIR FRANCE has stepped into a void left by
easyJet and Ryanair when they pulled out of the
French city of Nantes (pictured below).
agents cordiale ’
The carrier has started a service from London
City, targeting leisure and business passengers,
with a twice-daily service on weekdays and daily
flights on weekends.
The airline believes it can make the route
Air France-KLM’s UK boss, Christine Ourmieres, moves to
profitable by using smaller aircraft than the two
the US this summer. She talks to Chris Gray about premium
no-frills carriers, and by providing a schedule
that allows business clients to do a day’s work
economy, working with the trade and a new joint venture
in either city, as well as fitting in with leisure
passengers on weekend breaks or longer visits.
A
ir France will four years, is leaving in It is using a 50-seat Fokker aircraft operated
start adding July for New York to by Air France subsidiary CityJet, and aims to
a premium- work on Air France- carry a maximum of around 70,000 passengers
economy KLM’s new joint venture a year, compared with the 150,000 total capacity
class to its long-haul with Delta Air Lines. But offered by easyJet and Ryanair until they
fleet in the autumn, as she says the group’s dropped the route in March.
part of a strategy to get policy towards the Prices will be higher than the no-frills carriers
through the recession. trade, which provides offered, starting at about £135 including taxes.
Christine Ourmieres 80% of its UK sales, will CityJet managing director Johan Vanneste said it
(pictured), Air France- remain the same. would be targeting a different market.
KLM’s UK general “Years ago we might He said there had been an outcry in Nantes
manager, says it is have wanted to do when it was left without a London link, and there
one way the group is everything online but it was strong demand for a service among the city’s
adapting to the drastic is not what happened,” business and academic communities.
decline in business says Ourmieres. Patrick Edmond, CityJet’s head of commercial,
travel spending. “In this climate, it added that flights so far had been running about
The premium- would be difficult to say half-full since the service started on April 27,
economy cabin will use you don’t want to work but was confident this would improve as the
a fixed shell 19-inch-wide seat, with a 38-inch with good partners like the agents. Even when route became better known.
seat pitch. Air France will be the only European you’re the national carrier you have to see the
carrier to offer it outside of business class. benefits of relationships with travel agents.”
Details of the Delta venture will be revealed
Profits and job losses next week. Ourmieres says her task will be to
The group’s profits fell 70% to ¤445 million for ensure it does its “utmost to optimise revenue
the nine months to the end of last year, and it and to use resources efficiently”.
plans to make 3,000 staff redundant over the
next two years. Merger paid off
The collapse in premium business has been She says the decision to merge Air France and
“disastrous” for all carriers, says Ourmieres, KLM in 2004 has paid off, because they consol-
and all are facing big pressure on prices, which idated ahead of other carriers, which are now
is why Air France is matching BA’s promotions. being pushed into tie-ups due to the recession.
But Ourmieres says the recession won’t push Ourmieres will be replaced in July by
Air France-KLM into making any huge changes Henri Ourcade, who is currently based at Air
in how it operates. “We will not reinvent the France-KLM’s headquarters in Paris.
business because there is a crisis,” she says. The group rotates its managers after a
Ourmieres, who has been in her UK role for maximum of four years in one post.
24 22.05.2009
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