AF KLM reveals details of new operation

AIR FRANCE KLM’s new long-haul
operation, Boost, designed to
compete with the Gulf airlines, will
not be a low-cost model. In October, a
spokesperson for Air France KLM said
the group was considering entering the
low-cost long-haul travel market (see
TNW October 12).
Ten long-haul aircraft will be in
operation by 2020 with 30% of
operations focusing on newly created
routes.
The initiative will enable the group to
reopen routes closed due to their lack of
profitability and will assist in maintaining
routes under threat.
Focus will be on business and leisure
destinations with standards comparable
with those of Air France in terms of
product quality and the professionalism
of the crews.
The new offering will be modern
and simple, showcasing the group’s
products, digital technology, catering,
cabin design, services, customer
experience, and working methods.
The ground operations, handled by
Air France, will also be optimised by
digitalisation.
Kendy Phohleli, md of XYZ Consulting,
says to compete with the Gulf carriers,
AF KLM will need to present an
operation that offers more value at a
lower price, because the Middle Eastern
carriers have already taken the lead in
both product and price.
He says a smart move for the group
could be to focus on its premium
customers as that is where the yield
is. Kendy says Lufthansa has already
employed this strategy, by investing
significantly in its premium product in
an effort to position itself as the world’s
first five-star airline.
He also says it is unclear how the
group plans to leverage work conditions
to compete more effectively, saying that
with its unions, France has a highly
regulated labour environment which
makes it difficult for the company to be
flexible in that regard.