France

Air France has devoted a lot of effort to delivering on its promise to make the sky the best place on Earth. And, with meticulous attention to detail and a series of growth strategies, discriminating travelers have certainly found an oasis of comfort aboard Air France flights.

As part of a comprehensive program to improve services, the French airline bucked a global downward trend and instead boosted the number of its inter-European and international routes, providing a bigger number of executives and tourists the opportunity to experience airborne comfort at its best.

Chairman and CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta has boosted Air France's commitment to make traveling more comfortable by increasing the frequency of flights and the number of destinations

"In 1998, some airlines decided to cut or stabilize capacities because they were sure of the downturn in activities. Air France, on the contrary, decided to increase overall capacity," comments Air France Chairman and CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta.

Despite an economic slowdown in its key markets of Japan and North America, the carrier remains confident enough to continue with its expansion and growth strategy.

"When you have an efficient hub like we do in Charles De Gaulle International Airport, you have the capacity to play on other markets, feed your network, and maintain good load factor and good yield. The hubs, when they are efficient, can fight a slowdown and a downturn from other countries," says Spinetta.

Air France's growth strategy involves increasing the number of its long-haul flights between Europe and North America, as well as its medium-haul flights around Europe. Tighter cooperation with its Japanese and American partners in Europe has further fueled its business.

The company, which boasts the youngest and most modern fleet in Europe, holds the number two spot in the number of flights and in passenger capacity for long-haul routes between Europe and destinations outside the continent. It is also the second largest cargo carrier in Europe and the fourth world wide.

Meanwhile, Air France has further consolidated its position in the industry through its involvement in Sky Team, an alliance that includes Aeromexico, Delta, Korean Air, and CSA (Czech Airlines). "The success of Sky Team for Air France has been excellent in terms of load factor, yield of unit revenue, and market share. I am convinced that Sky Team is one of the three main alliances and is probably one of the most efficient," explains Spinetta.

"We launched the only alliance that has developed a specific organization for cargo operations," he adds. "Recently, we added a joint venture for cargo operations in the North American market. This also combines the networks in cargo between Air France and our partners that makes cargo operations more and more efficient." Air France alone has 11 full cargo aircraft operating all over the world.

In Japan, Air France has eclipsed its European competitors because of a close and long-running partnership with Japan Airlines. "We are the dominant European airline in the relationship between Europe and Japan," states Spinetta. "We have the most frequent flights between Paris and Tokyo and between Paris and Osaka."

"Our relationship with Japan, and especially with Japan Airlines, is a very whole relationship that started in the beginning of the 1950's," he continues. "In 1995, we signed what you could call an extended cooperation or code sharing agreement between Paris and Osaka, on inter-France flights for Japan Airlines, and inter-Japan flights for Air France. I meet Mr. Kaneko [CEO of Japan Airlines] very often, and more and more we try to extend the cooperation to benefit both Air France and Japan Airlines."

Air France attributes its phenomenal success to its personalized attention and services that ensure the safety and comfort of its passengers. "We have revamped our products totally from First Class, Business Class, and Coach Class seats," Spinetta points out. "Our new range of services is highly appreciated by our customers, which is of utmost importance. We set standards of quality for all our staff - from flight attendants and pilots to management and ground staff - and these are checked every month to make sure they are correctly applied."

"Employee motivation is crucial to the operations and having the employees as shareholders greatly improves the whole organization," he adds.

Meanwhile, the French air carrier continues with its mission not only to provide comfort and convenience to its passengers but also to showcase its country, which does not seem to difficult a task considering that France remains one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world.

Undoubtedly, for those fortunate fliers, there is no place on Earth better than the sky other than France any time of the year.

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