Air France-Klm, interview with gm Eleonore Tramus: "More flights to Italy and focus on Flying Blue"
Italy is increasingly strategic-perhaps even more so in view of Ita Airways' move from Skyteam to [...]
KLM
Air France
Italy is increasingly strategic-perhaps even more so, in view of the passage of Ita Airways from Skyteam to Star Alliance - so the Group Air France-Klm already looks to the future and focuses on two-three key pillars for continued growth.
In this article:
Since the confirmation of the hub and spoke model with connections on Paris and Amsterdam to capacity growth for winter as well ; from the benefits of the Flying Blue program to the major fleet and cabin renovation plan.
About this (and much more) tells Eleonore Tramus, general manager of Air France-Klm for East Mediterranean countries (including Italy) in a wide-ranging interview about the Franco-Dutch group's plans.
Strategies on Italy and a look at winter
What are the plans for Air France-Klm's winter season in Italy?
"The Italian market is increasingly strategic, partly because it is very dynamic and you should never take anything for granted. For the winter we will continue to grow and we expect more capacity than in 2019 on Italy. We will strengthen all connections on major destinations, with the exception of exclusively summer routes such as Cagliari, Olbia, Catania and Bari."
With the upcoming transition of Ita Airways to Lufthansa and Star Alliance, what changes for you in Italy. Are there plans to increase competition the network?
"We'll see what happens in the coming months, but we're certainly not standing idly by. We have a strong network, very good connections on Paris and Amsterdam, and a demand for our flights from Italy that continues to be very strong."
Is it possible to imagine the launch of a direct intercontinental flight from Fiumicino?
"No such investment is planned at the moment, partly because we work very well with the connections model on our hubs and management efficiency of the fleet and cabin crew, but who knows in the future? We probe every opportunity. We want to strengthen connections, I'm thinking especially of Naples and Florence."
What about the international network?
"In September we will announce a number of new destinations, mainly on the European network. Meanwhile, I can confirm the expansion of the network to North America with flights between Paris Charles de Gaulle and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, and the extension to winter of the direct flight to Ottawa in Canada. More frequencies are also planned to Dallas, Montreal and Vancouver."
What are the most popular routes for Italian passengers with Air France-Klm?
"The U.S., Canada and Mexico-after France and Holland-are by far the most popular markets from Italy, thanks in part to our partnership with Delta. The classic New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco dominate, in the Caribbean area instead the most chosen destinations are Havana, Punta Cana and Point-a-Pitre. In South America we register a strong interest of Italians for Lima, Quito and Panama. Toward Asia, finally, Japan and China are starting to grow very well."
Investments on Flying Blue
We have always said on TFC that the Flying Blue loyalty program is among the best possible for the Italian passenger. How strategic is it for growth in our country?
"I can say that Flying Blue is attracting more and more customers to Italy. From the rewards scheme, to partnerships with companies outside aviation, to Family accounts: the whole strategy is designed to offer exclusive benefits and useful services to really ensure customer loyalty and more opportunities, especially in Italy."
Is there any news regarding award tickets and new benefits?
"In addition to the classic benefits (Sky Priority, seat choice options, extra bag and airport lounges) that can be used with more than 30 partner airlines, I would like to remind you that we have recently revised our points scheme with more attractive accreditations particularly for travel within the United States and within Europe. In addition, all Flying Blue members can take advantage of the Free stop over on Amsterdam and Paris With reward-tickets paid with miles. A benefit that not all loyalty programs have for their customers. There is also a dedicated page on the program website with an interactive map that allows you to navigate and discover all the offers, reward-tickets and destinations."
What results do you have from the monthly offerings?
"The promo rewards monthly have a high conversion rate, despite the number of tickets being limited. They work very well. The other plus of Flying Blue is the inclusion of more than 100 partners that are not airlines that allow both accumulating and spending points. In Italy, we added two local partners in 2022: LimoLane for chauffeur-driven car rentals and Land of Fashion Outlets, which has five shopping villages in Italy."
The cap on flights and intermodality in France and the Netherlands
What is the impact of the recent stop to some domestic flights in France being replaced by trains when the rail route is contained within 2 hours and 30 minutes ?
"The impact on France is very limited. The ban applies to only three routes: flights from Orly airport to Bordeaux, Lyon and Nantes. Passengers can still fly connecting flights to these airports via Paris Charles de Gaulle. The rest of the French network, from Marseille to Nice to Brest, Rennes, Nantes, Lyon, Toulouse, Montpellier, Bordeaux, and other cities is fully usable by air. In goni case, if that means investing in intermodality, Air France has been doing that for a long time already,. We are ready and have an extensive program."
And on the case of the ceiling on flights to Amsterdam Schiphol, on the other hand?
"As KLM we are very disappointed with the decision of the Dutch court. But we are studying the new rules and it is not yet well specified how and when the new rules will be implemented. In any case, we have drawn up a plan with both stakeholders and the Dutch government to renew the fleet and improve operational efficiency. The goal is to reduce noise and emisisons produced in Amsterdam."
The alternative is to develop intermodal services and train+airplane services...
"Air France and KLM are both investing in cutting-edge projects. In fact, it has already been 25 years that Air France has been offering a train+airplane service with a single ticket. Both companies offer a seamless, meaning frictionless, and fully digital service."
For example?
"KLM supports the Dutch government's plan to boost international rail travel as an alternative to flights to six priority destinations (Brussels, Paris, London, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Berlin). The action plan was developed in late 2020 by Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, with operators ProRail and NS Dutch Railways. KLM itself recently purchased additional seats on four Thalys trains for passengers traveling between Amsterdam and Brussels this summer so as to gradually reduce daily flights between the two cities."
While Air France has already been operating an intermodal service for years...
"Yes, and in this case the train+airplane offer connects 18 stations to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and 15 to Paris-Orly Airport via the Tgv Massy station."
The assets: fleet renewal and lounges
In any case, fleet renewal is proceeding precisely to achieve new goals of sustainability and connectivity...
"We are making major investments that will allow us by 2030 to have a much younger and sustainable fleet and a very competitive in-flight service. By 2028 the 64% of our aircraft will be new generation. as for Air France by 2025 we will have 38 Airbus A350s and 60 Airbus A220s. Klm Transavia Netherlands and Transavia France have signed an order for 100 A320neo family aircraft that will replace Boeing 737 NGs."
Finally, at the level of passenger experience, how important is cabin renovation?
"It is essential to improve comfort and accessibility and to compete in an increasingly competitive market. On cabins, we started in June the installation of World Business Class and Premium Comfort on all Boeing 777s, which will be completed within a year.The same goes for the cabin renovation of Air France's 777s, which will be completed by 2023. And then there are the new A350 cabins. By 2030 we had a completely renovated fleet, from the planes to the cabins. And then there are our lounges in Paris and Amsterdam, key assets for our passengers on connecting flights."
Is there any news regarding lounges?
"They have all been renovated in recent years, both in Paris and Amsterdam. The four lounges (one Schengen and one non-Schengen on each hub) also have private areas for Platinum and Platinum for Life members, a small circle of super frequent flyers that we recognize by the Ultimate brand. There are very few of them, even in Italy, and they are also entitled to an exclusive and dedicated route through the airport and at checkpoints."
