It is time for action to save this
airline group, or risk it falling apart and disappear. The profitable parts to be sold off and the rest to go bankrupt or continue as a third-rate small airline. Chances are that the French unions
will demand that, in order to prop up the figures of Air France, activities and routes will be transferred from KLM to Air France. But that would result in frustrating fights between these two major groups. From an investor and passenger point
of view, it would be wise to abandon the fixed distribution of aircraft/seats and expand the KLM brand. This would also send a strong signal to the unions that they have to cooperate with the management in the interests of the total group in today’s economic environment. As someone based in the Netherlands
and a regular passenger on KLM flights, I would hate to see the demise of the great airline that KLM is, together with its highly skilled and motivated personnel, who provide an excellent service. I sympathise with the KLM personnel, who are worried about their future.
➜ M AR CUS GB Thanks EDSKI777 for that insight, especially to hear what is being discussed from the Dutch perspective. We are clearly talking about the Dutch
and French culture within each airline being different. Both my Dutch and French friends
have said it reflects each country as a whole; I have felt the difference the second you go into a terminal or step onto an aircraft. I simply enjoy the whole KLM experience, its reliability and running of services, yet I dread Air France and have always had awful, poor experiences. When hard times came to KLM, we
must remember that ALL staff came in to work in any way they could, voluntarily, or moved roles – flight operations, ground services, engineering, HR, accounting, admin, to keep “the family” going. Pilots, cabin crew, engineers, ground staff. I
bus ine s s tr a v el ler .c om
have great respect for that, much my own style of management – effective teamwork, community. Air France has none of that. “Not
my job or concern, I don’t care,” one purser said from Air France to a Dutch colleague! It is a very complicated issue –
individuals, and investor companies, governments holding shares, the Dutch government and city of Amsterdam holding stakes in Schiphol. The success of each interlinked. If “The Group” own KLM, I agree the best they can do is to part them in all ways possible, hold them to account for their profits, efforts and brand.
➜ R F ER GUS ON The irony is that in France, paid-up trade union membership is lower than in the UK, yet the statutory powers they hold are immense.
➜ M AR CUS GB Many other carriers can take Air France’s place at Charles de Gaulle airport, but the same would not be welcome nor successful if KLM were to cease at Schiphol.
➜ TR AN STR A X M AN Does one really think that Air France will be allowed to go bankrupt? That is a possibility that neither the French unions nor their government will permit. The European Union has proved incapable of controlling the French and Italian governments. They do precisely what they want “in their national interest”. Thus the French might have to accept
KLM separating from Air France, but would that mean Air France going bankrupt? I doubt it. There could well be two companies going separate ways. What the European Union decides
about Alitalia might be more significant. If the EU said that Italian government aid was enough after more than €900 million was spent, then Air France might also
have to follow suit. However, France holds a stronger position in the EU, so might well obtain the benefits of maintaining Air France flying without having to go into bankruptcy. Who knows?
➜ ED S KI7 7 7 No matter what KLM personnel, passengers or shareholders may prefer, the chances that Air France will let KLM go are minimal. KLM and other Dutch parts of the group are what keeps the group afloat, despite all the strikes by what is increasingly regarded as unwilling and unrealistic personnel and unions, and highly incompetent French management. Financial newspapers report that each
day Air France strikes will cost the group €25 to €30 million. The Air France-KLM group is expected to operate at a loss this financial year. Futhermore, Air France-KLM reports
that, in April 2018, the group had fewer passengers than in the same month the previous year. Air France transported nine per cent fewer passengers, while KLM reported a growth of five per cent. The total number of passengers dropped from 7 million in April 2017 to 6.9 million in April this year. To lose passengers in this current
market compared to last year is quite a performance (not!).
➜ L U G ANOP IR A TE An article in The Economist shows Air France-KLM staff are paid more than others, but the reality is it’s even worse, as Air France staff are paid more than KLM staff for the same job. A friend of my son’s, also in a senior position at KLM, spent six months in Paris with a view to integrating their various systems. He said the staff were unbelievably lazy, arriving later, long lunches, breaks and leaving early. He doubted they did more than four hours work a day, and even that was interrupted with personal phone calls. No wonder Air France staff →
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