Agents have become
concerned with the
number of flight
disruptions affecting Air
France in recent weeks.
Mary Shilleto, ceo
of Thompsons Travel,
says the impact of the
deepening labour conflict
has been huge. “Air
France has accommodated
passengers on other
carriers very willingly,
but it has been a hugely
stressful time for both
TMCs and travellers.
Unfortunately this is an
annual occurrence and I
am sure it is detrimental
to the Air France brand,”
she says.
David Pegg, md of
Sure Viva Travels, says
there has been very little
communication from the
airline.
“Of the five Air France
flights scheduled last
week, two were delayed
and Friday’s flight was
cancelled with no
communication regarding
an alternative way to
accommodate clients,”
says David. He adds that
the airline will often keep
passengers alerted to
changes, but agents are
rarely kept up to date with
what is happening.
“I’m not going to
run around solving Air
France’s problems,” David
continued. “For 0,01%
commission, I don’t have
the time. Air France seems
to have a strike, delay or
technical problem every
week, and the fact that we
cannot get hold of them
when issues arise is a
huge problem for agents.”
David says he has tried
to contact Air France many
times, and in one instance
was told by the Air France
staff to consult Travelinfo
for information on delays.
One agent, who says
Air France is generally
quite communicative with
agents, told TNW that the
strikes are driving people
away from booking the
airline because they are
affecting clients’ trust in
the airline. “I have had
clients who want to travel
direct to France, who tell
me specifically they don’t
want to be booked on Air
France.”
Wouter Vermeulen,
Air France KLM gm for
Southern Africa, says that
in the event of a flight
irregularity every measure
is taken to minimise the
impact on passengers
and trade partners. “As
soon as we are aware of
a disruption we ensure
that our Travelinfo page is
updated with the relevant
information,” he says.
This information is also
available on the Air France
Agent Connect platform
and website.
