Tag Archives: Transavia France

Air France and KLM announce their schedule changes for the winter season

Air France (Paris) and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (Amsterdam) have issued details of their winter schedule from October 26 through March 28, 2015. Overall group capacity will only increase by 0.7 percent as Air France tries to recover from its devastating pilot strikes. However Transavia will see a 13.3 percent increase in capacity as the group tries to drive more operations to the lower cost divisions. Air France is cutting dome domestic AF services with the goal of breaking even by 2017. Here is the full report:

For the 2014-15 winter season (from October 26, 2014 to March 28, 2015), Air France-KLM Group capacity is scheduled to increase by 0.7%, with an increase of 0.1% for passenger operations(Air France, KLM and HOP!) and 13.3% for low-cost leisure operations (Transavia in France and the Netherlands).

Short and medium-haul capacity at the Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol hubs will increase slightly (+3.1%). In the same way as last summer, point-to-point short and medium-haul capacity will continue to decrease (-11.3%). Transavia capacity will increase by +13.3%, with growth concentrated on the French market (+56%).

Air France-KLM has chosen to move upmarket with the progressive introduction of new products and services of the highest global standards.

On the long-haul network, 22 Boeing 747-400s have been equipped with KLM’s new World Business Class and 777-200s will be finished before the summer of 2015, followed by implementing the new World Business Class in the 777-300s. By the end of 2016 about 80% of the KLM fleet will be done. Air France continues to roll out its new Best cabins: five Air France Boeing 777s will be equipped by end-2014. Flights to New York, Singapore and Jakarta have already been equipped with these brand new products. Services to Tokyo-Haneda, Shanghai, Dubai, Houston, Sao Paulo, Douala and Malabo will gradually be added to this list in winter 2014.

Furthermore, this winter the Company will operate two new destinations by Airbus A380: Miami and Abidjan, in addition to Los Angeles, New York, Johannesburg, Hong Kong and Shanghai already served by the super jumbo this summer.

Long-haul: + 0.3%

On the long-haul network, Air France-KLM Group capacity is up slightly compared with winter 2013-14 at +0.3%.

On the North American network, capacity is up +2.4% compared with winter 2013-14

KLM is once again increasing capacity to Atlanta, from 7 to 12 weekly flights, in response to market demand. These new frequencies will facilitate connections with the Delta Air Lines network in Atlanta, one of the main hubs served by the Air France-KLM partner.

The Air France Airbus A380 will be flying the Miami route as from early December. Three U.S. destinations will thus be operated this winter by the A380 on departure from Paris-Charles de Gaulle – New-York-JFK, Los Angeles and Miami.

In Mexico, KLM will increase its frequencies to Mexico City, from 7 to 9 weekly flights in November and December, in line with seasonal demand. Air France capacity on a code-share basis with Aeromexico is increasing with 13 new destinations in Mexico and Central America on departure from Mexico City.

In Central and South America, Group capacity is up +1.1%.

Air France continues to serve Brasilia (Brazil) three times a week and Montevideo (Uruguay) is served daily in continuation of Buenos Aires (Argentina). The Company is increasing capacity to Panama City, increasing from three to five weekly frequencies by B777-200 and benefits from Copa’s Central American hub thanks to the commercial agreement between the two airlines.

Air France-KLM continues its close cooperation with the Brazilian airline GOL in order to take advantage of its joint network in the region and offer its customers improved connecting opportunities with the Brazilian domestic network this winter.

In the Caribbean, Air France-KLM capacity is revised downwards (-2.2%). Between mid-December and mid-January, Air France will operate 13 weekly flights (instead of 14) to Pointe-à-Pitre and 11 weekly flights (instead of 14) to Fort-de-France. KLM will increase capacity in the Caribbean in response to increasing demand for these destinations.

In Asia, Group capacity is up slightly at +0.7%.

In continuation of the summer schedule, Air France is continuing to serve Tokyo-Haneda airport up to 11 times per week in addition to the daily flight to Tokyo-Narita, providing connecting opportunities to Noumea (New Caledonia). Services to Jakarta (Indonesia) in continuation of the Singapore flight are also maintained on a daily basis.

To take advantage of the seasonal nature of certain destinations, Air France is increasing capacity during the peak winter season between mid-December and mid-March to Bangkok (Thailand) (one daily flight) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) (addition of a fourth frequency).

In China, capacity to Wuhan is being increased by one weekly frequency, with three weekly flights. Guangzhou will be served by four weekly flights.

KLM continues to cooperate with its Asian partners to offer customers a wider choice of connecting flights and even more destinations in Asia.

Africa: capacity slightly down by -0.8%

In Africa, Group capacity is slightly down to -0.8%.

Air France is adjusting its flight offering and reinforcing its most buoyant routes such as Abidjan (Ivory Coast), with the entry into service of the A380, and Pointe Noire (Congo) with the introduction of a sixth weekly frequency.

In East Africa, KLM is reorganizing its network to adapt it to specific market expectations. Capacity to Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and Entebbe (Uganda) is up. The two cities are now served directly three times a week. On the other days, they are served via Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) and Kigali (Rwanda) respectively. KLM has suspended direct service to Harare (Zimbabwe) and Lusaka (Zambia). These two destinations remain in the Group’s capacity and are currently served by Kenya Airways via Nairobi (Kenya).

In the Indian Ocean region, Air France-KLM is adjusting capacity (-2.8%). From mid-December to mid-January, Air France will offer 11 flights to Reunion island (instead of 12) and an additional flight to Mauritius.

Middle East: capacity down by -5.2%

In the Middle East, Air France-KLM capacity is down by -5.2%. KLM is again increasing capacity to Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) in combination with Bahrein, as a result of its optimized cooperation with Etihad Airways, Air France-KLM’s partner. KLM will serve this destination using an Airbus 330-300, instead of an A330-200. Dubai will be served by the Air France B777-300 equipped with the new Best cabins in early 2015.

Medium-haul

On the medium-haul network, the 2014-15 winter season sees the full effect of the measures of the Transform 2015 plan.

On departure from the Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol hubs: capacity increases by +3.1%
Air France and KLM continue to serve the routes launched this summer: on departure from Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Stavanger (Norway) with two daily frequencies; on departure from Amsterdam-Schiphol, two daily flights to Turin (Italy), one daily flight to Bilbao (Spain) and Zagreb (Croatia).

KLM strengthens its position in Scandinavia by increasing frequencies to Bergen (Noway) with three daily flights and five daily flights to Billund (Denmark). KLM will also increase capacity to Moscow (Russia) and Bordeaux with three daily flights.

Air France aims to better seize connecting opportunities to the rest of the world and maintain capacity adapted to variations in demand between winter and summer: for example, one daily frequency is being suspended to Munich (Germany), Bucharest (Romania), Moscow (Russia), Rome (Italy) and Bremen (Germany).

On departure from Paris-Orly and the French provinces: capacity down by -11.3%
This winter, point-to-point short and medium-haul capacity (Air France, HOP!) is down by -11.3%. Seasonal adjustments are more pronounced, with the aim to return to operational breakeven by 2017.

On departure from Paris-Orly, Air France suspends one daily flight to Bordeaux and two daily frequencies to Toulouse. From the provinces, structural adjustments continue, notably with the suspension of several destinations in Europe and North Africa on departure from Toulouse and Marseille.

HOP! capacity is slightly up in France and to major European cities on departure from the French provinces. With its 26 destinations, Lyon is the Company’s main base, giving customers from the French regions access to a vast network of connecting flights.

Low-cost leisure operations

Transavia: strong increase in capacity of +13.3%

Transavia France, a low-cost subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group, will continue to develop as outlined in the Transform 2015 plan. During the 2014-15 winter season, Transavia France will operate nine new routes launched this year on departure from Paris-Orly – Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Budapest, Madrid, Malaga, Barcelona, Athens, Pisa and Prague. On departure from Lyon, Transavia will also inaugurate a service to Tel Aviv as from October 2014.

Copyright Photo: Christian Volpati Collection/AirlinersGallery.com. As previously reported, Air France is bringing the Airbus A380 to Miami this winter. A380-861 F-HPJI (msn 115) taxies at the Paris (CDG) hub with the special 80 And (Years) markings.

Air France:

KLM:

Air France Aircraft Slide Show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Europe-1/Airlines-Europe-1/air-france

Air France backs off on its Transavia project hoping the pilots will come back to work

Air France (Paris-CDG) is somewhat backing off on its previous proposal to expand the operations of subsidiary Transavia France (Paris-Orly) and Transavia Europe in the hoe the pilots will end their strikes. The on-going strike by the pilots is taking its toll financially.

The company issued this statement yesterday:

On the tenth day of a strike that is heavily penalizing Air France, its customers and its staff, Company management is making the following proposal to promote the rapid resolution of the conflict:

1. Immediate withdrawal of the Transavia Europe project,

2. The further development of Transavia France in competitive economic conditions and accompanied by the safeguards as discussed in the negotiations so far,

3. In these conditions, Air France Management calls on the pilots to return to work immediately.

This balanced proposal meets the unions’ requirements by providing a renewed guarantee that there will be no relocation.

It preserves the Transavia development project, a “made in France” solution to face the competition from foreign low-cost carriers and conquer this rapidly-expanding market.

It meets the needs of employees who want their company to get back on track.

It enables us to find an immediate outcome to this destructive conflict.

Alexandre de Juniac, Chairman and CEO of Air France-KLM, and Frédéric Gagey, Chairman and CEO of Air France, declared: “Our Transavia project is a 100% pro-France project. It is about developing Transavia to encourage growth in France and quickly create more than 1,000 jobs in France (including 250 pilot jobs). With the withdrawal of the Transavia Europe project, there is now no reason to strike because there are no longer any concerns about relocation. We therefore call on the striking pilots to return to work immediately.”

Meanwhile for tomorrow, Air France expects to operate 48% of its flights on Friday September 26, 2014, given an estimated 58% of pilots are planning to strike tomorrow.

Copyright Photo: SPA/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A321-212 F-GTAN (msn 3051) gracefully climbs away from London’s Heathrow Airport.

Air France:

Air France’s pilots: the strike will continue, Air France: we will speed up the development of Transavia France

Air France (Paris) is still reeling from a week-long strike by its pilots. The flag carrier has only been able to fly a small portion of its flights due to the on-going strike. Today (September 22) the pilot’s union rejected the latest offer by management to end the strike.

Air France announced today it expects to operate 42 percent of its flights tomorrow (September 23) as the strike continue.

Today Air France also announced it will speed up the development of the lower-cost Transavia France (Paris) with this announcement:

The pilots’ strike has been disrupting flight operations for seven days now, with catastrophic consequences for the Company’s customers, staff and financial situation. Alexandre de Juniac and Frédéric Gagey wish once again to thank all staff who have rallied round in France and around the world to support and assist customers in this unprecedented situation. The Company wishes once again to present its sincere apologies to its customers.

This strike generates an operating loss of up to 20 million euros per day, plus customer compensations and the impact of the gradual recovery in traffic in the days following the return to normal operations. Once the dispute is over, the Group will update its EBITDA target for the 2014 financial year.

Negotiations with the pilot unions, notably the SNPL, have taken place daily. Since the beginning of the strike action, Alexandre de Juniac and Frédéric Gagey have spent over 40 hours in meetings with pilot representatives. Every day, they have been submitting new constructive proposals to resolve this conflict. On their part, the pilot unions have not put forward any proposal demonstrating their willingness to find a solution.

Management can only note that talks have reached a deadlock situation.

Management also wishes to reassert that Air France-KLM’s development on the low-cost market in Europe is both strategic and urgent for the Group’s future, given that this market is fast-expanding and our competitors have adopted particularly offensive strategies on the French market.

The ambition set out in the Perform 2020 growth and competitiveness plan remains intact. The pilot unions have stigmatized the Transavia project by fuelling unfounded fears of “delocalization” and “social dumping”, which have never been at stake. Management regrets these mistaken interpretations, but has taken note of the concerns expressed.

Alexandre de Juniac, Frédéric Gagey and the managerial teams have since taken the following measures:

Postponing the plan to create Transavia subsidiaries in Europe (outside France and the Netherlands), while entering into extended talks about the project and building together the necessary guarantees by the end of the year.

A comprehensive negotiation and explanatory process with Air France and KLM unions will be set up. As for Air France, this process will begin as soon as the next Central Works Council meeting takes place, scheduled for September 25, 2014.
FASTER IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TRANSAVIA PROJECT IN FRANCE

The expansion of Transavia in France is vital for Air France, notably in order to defend the Group’s position at Orly Airport, as highlighted by the experts’ report published in July 2014 and supported by the SNPL. It is now urgent to implement this plan.

The project was presented to the unions of each staff category over a year ago, but was not finalized within the framework of the talks underway. The pilot unions’ demand to use, on the Transavia network, Air France pilots employed under Air France conditions and to replace the existing 44 Boeing 737s by Airbus A320s, would inevitably lead Transavia France to failure. The compromise solutions proposed by management have all been rejected.

In these conditions, if the pilot organizations do not agree to the economic and social terms and conditions of the project put forward, Management will be forced to begin the formal procedure for denouncing the agreement to create Transavia France (signed in 2007). This agreement currently restricts the development of Transavia France; its withdrawal will make it possible to implement the project more quickly.

The aim is to rapidly equip Transavia in France with additional aircraft beyond the 14 currently in the fleet. It should be remembered that this project included the creation of a thousand jobs over the next 5 years, including 250 jobs for French pilots. It will now be possible to hire staff faster. The project will, as expected, be primarily open to Air France pilots on a voluntary basis.

Moreover, Management confirms that the development of Transavia in France is not intended to impact Point to Point activity on the French domestic network. Transavia will not feed the Air France hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

“To remain in the race in Europe, we have no alternative than to rapidly expand Transavia. We are now taking every measure to explain and accelerate its growth out of France. The Air France-KLM Group is reaffirming its aim of reaching a fleet of more than 100 Transavia aircraft by 2017,” said Alexandre de Juniac. Frédéric Gagey continued: “These decisions must enable us to restore calm within the company and end the strike that has lasted too long for Air France, its customers and its staff.”

Top Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth/AirlinersGallery.com. Operations at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) will remain under the Air France brand but flights to Orly Airport will increasing be under the Transavia brand. With the expedited expansion of Transavia France the subsidiary is likely to get a new look. Airbus A319-111 F-GRHV (msn 1505) taxies at Nantes.

Air France:

Transavia France:

Current routes from Paris (Orly) by Transavia France:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Joe G. Walker/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-8K2 F-GZHC (msn 29651) wears the 2005 livery of the Dutch version of the original Transavia Airlines.

Air France-KLM reduces its first half net loss to $824.6 million

Air France (Paris) and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (Amsterdam) reported a net loss of €614 million ($824.6 million), an improvement of €185 million ($248.4 million).

As part of the expanding Transavia lower-fare operations the Group issued this statement:

In the Second Quarter of 2014, Transavia capacity was up 4.8%, reflecting the accelerated development of Transavia France (up 10%) and the repositioning of Transavia Netherlands (up 3% including a 6% reduction in charter capacity). Traffic rose 6.0%, leading to a record high load factor of 90.7% (up 0.9 point). Unit revenue was down 1.7%. Transavia’s total revenue stood at 296 million euros, up 5.0%. The operating result was -6 million euros, down 3 million euros year-on-year.

In the First Half of 2014, Transavia traffic increased by 6.9% for capacity up 5.8%, leading to a 0.9 point increase in load factor to 89.2%. Unit revenue was down 2.6%. Total revenue stood at 435 million euros, up 4.5%, while the unit cost per ASK decreased by 0.8%, but increased by 0.5% on a constant currency basis. The operating result decreased by 10 million euros to -64 million euros, mainly due to the ramp up of Transavia France.

Overall the Group issued this outlook:

Delivery on the Transform 2015 plan is fully on track. However, as indicated at the beginning of the month, the operating environment remains tough, with industry overcapacity on certain long-haul routes, notably North America and Asia, impacting yields. This trend comes on top of the persistently weak cargo demand and the challenging situation in Venezuela already identified in the First Quarter.

Under these conditions, as indicated at the beginning of the month, 2014 EBITDA is expected to be between 2.2 and 2.3 billion euros. Strong capital discipline will enable the group to remain on track in terms of debt reduction and achieve its objective of 4.5 billion euros in net debt in 2015.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Top Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Air France’s Airbus A380-861 F-HPJE (msn 052) with the special logo to celebrate 50 years of France-China diplomatic relations.

Air France:

KLM:

Transavia (Netherlands):

Transavia (France):

Hop!:

Fleet Information:

Bottom Copyright Photo: TMK Photography/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 747-406 PH-BFF (msn 24202) completes its final approach to the runway at Toronto (Pearson).

Transavia France introduces seven new routes from Paris Orly as the fleet expands with Airbus A320s, introduces a new uniform

Transavia France (Transavia.com) (Paris-Orly) has introduced seven new routes per Anna Aero. Paris (Orly)-Tel Aviv was added on April 10 followed by new service to Athens, Faro, Istanbul and Malaga on April 12 along with Pisa and Prague on April 13.

The subsidiary of Air France-KLM now operates 12 Boeing 737-800s and will soon operate five Airbus A320s that are being transferred from Air France.

On April 1 Transavia unveiled its new cabin crew uniform. Previously Transavia issued this statement:

Transavia.com is in the process of creating a new uniform for its cabin crew and sales & service staff. The design process is unique because the end product will be a result of co-creation. This means that the wearers themselves will contribute ideas for the design. Bas van Wayenburg, design consultant, will translate these ideas and suggestions into wearable uniform components. Through ‘crew sourcing’, the airline’s personnel in both the Netherlands and France will take a vote on the final design. By opting for this approach, transavia.com is not only demonstrating its commitment to its employees, but is also enhancing its visual appearance to its customers. The new uniform will be put into use in the summer of 2015.

“We are proud to be working together with our around 1,500 employees, the end users, on the creation of a new uniform in such a way. Our employees reflect our brand and are the customers’ first point contact. The uniform is an important element of our visual identity and must continue to be that. Therefore, after nearly 9 years, we are giving our uniform a facelift. It needs to be in keeping with the core values of our brand, including enthusiasm, commitment and sincerity, while at the same time expressing safety and responsibility,” explains Mattijs ten Brink, General Manager of transavia.com.

Incidentally, this is not the first time that transavia.com has involved end users in the development process of a product. Crowd sourcing was also applied for the Fanflight (2013) and Slogan (2011) campaigns.

Top Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-86J WL F-GZHI (msn 36120) taxies past the camera at Antalya, Turkey.

Transavia (France):

Bottom Copyright Photo: Transavia.

Routes from the Paris (Orly) base:

Boeing rolls out the first Next-Generation 737 at the increased rate

The first Boeing (Chicago and Seattle) Next-Generation 737 to be built at the increased rate of 42 airplanes per month rolled out of the factory in Renton, Washington yesterday (march 19). The 737-800 will soon be delivered to Airberlin (Berlin-Tegel) and ultimately leased to Transavia France (Paris).

The airplane will now undergo functional, systems and flight testing over the next three weeks before being delivered.

Market demand remains strong for the Next-Generation 737, the world’s best-selling commercial jetliner. Since 2010, production has risen about 33 percent, from 31.5 to 42 airplanes a month. As previously announced, the production rate is scheduled to increase to 47 airplanes a month in 2017.