Air France Displace 1000 Flight Schedule Due as Cabin Crew Strike

Air France aims to operate at least 90 percent of flights today after support for a five-day cabin crew strike was hurt by labor deals that left the action backed by only four of the seven unions representing the 15,000 crew.

The CFTC and CFDT labor groups reached an agreement with Air France yesterday, when the carrier scrapped fewer than 10 percent of its more than 1,000 scheduled flights, joining the largest flight-attendant union, UNAC, in spurning the walkout.

Cabin crew aiming to overturn cuts to staffing levels on single-aisle jets are in the fourth day of an action spanning the All Saints Day holiday that’s one of France’s busiest. Air France is seeking to reduce costs after an earnings slump forced the exit of Pierre-Henri Gourgeon as chief executive officer.

“It’s extremely important for the carrier to get to grips with headwinds coming from the unions,” said Frank Skodzik, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt with a “hold” rating on Air France-KLM stock. “Obviously, it has come at a very bad time with the public holiday, but in the longer term the damage to the brand and the share price is usually quite limited.”

Air France has tried to restrict terminations to high-frequency European routes where it’s easier to rebook seats. Today’s long-haul cancellations are confined to Paris flights to Abu Dhabi, Atlanta, Montreal and New York John F. Kennedy.

U.S. services have been halted because passengers can usually be accommodated with partner Delta Air Lines Ltd.

Shares Extend Fall

Air France-KLM Group, Europe’s biggest carrier, fell as much as 4.6 percent to 52.69 euros in Paris, where it is based, and was trading at that price as of 10 a.m. local time, valuing the business at 1.58 billion euros ($2.17 billion).

The stock declined 6.9 percent yesterday and has tumbled 60 percent this year, the worst performance on the six-member Bloomberg EMEA Airlines Index, which is down 35 percent.

The Paris airports of Orly and Charles de Gaulle, Europe’s second busiest, and the terminal in Marseille are among those affected by the strike, which was prompted by Air France’s plans to cut a flight attendant from each of its Airbus SAS A319 jets, leaving three. The carrier says it has agreed to keep the number at four for trips over three hours and has also given ground on an issue regarding performance assessment.

Air France-KLM reported operating losses in two of the past three fiscal years following 11 years of profitability and is targeting nothing more than breakeven for 2011. Its reputation also took a hit after safety experts said pilot training was a factor in a 2009 crash that killed 228 people, a factor that spurred the reinstatement of Jean-Cyril Spinetta as CEO.

International Air Transport Association figures published yesterday show that global passenger traffic grew 5.6 percent last month, accelerating from a 4.6 percent gain in August, in what CEO Tony Tyler said was “a pleasant surprise.”

IATA said it’s still expecting a “general weakening” in coming months, with a continuing slump in freight traffic, which deepened to 2.7 percent in September from 2.4 percent in August, indicating the likely future trend for the passenger sector.

Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines Partner to Bid 51 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic

Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines are said to have partnered up for a potential bid on a 51% stake in Virgin Atlantic, the carrier owned by British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson. The SkyTeam alliance members have reportedly appointed Goldman Sachs to advise them on a possible approach.

Sir Richard’s 51% stake is valued from £500 million to £1 billion by analysts. He hired Deutsche Bank to examine the airline’s strategic options after British Airways and Iberia completed their £5.2 billion merger, as well as made a transatlantic pact with American Airlines. The other 49% of Virgin Atlantic is owned by Singapore Airlines, after the carrier purchased it in 1999 for £600 million.

Air France and Delta teamed up last year to invest £1.3 billion in Japan Airlines. The Asian airline rejected the offer in favor of continuing its membership in the Oneworld alliance with British Airways and American Airlines.

Other airlines around the world have been consolidating and forging partnerships recently so that they can survive the recession and other factors, like the rising price of oil. However, Virgin Atlantic hasn’t become a member of any big alliances, and a review of the carrier’s position found several possible outcomes. These include a codeshare deal, selling part of Singapore Airlines’ stake to a 3rd party, joining an alliance and for Sir Richard to give up majority control as part of a bigger transaction.

Another airline interested in a bid on Sir Richar’s stake is Etihad Airlines. Chief executive James Hogan wrote to Deutsche Bank, expressing his interest in a deal, and he has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch for advice.

Best Airline in World Vote by Condé Nast Traveller

In 2010 TAP was voted “Best Airline in the World” by Condé Nast Traveller and may retain its title in 2011 thanks to its inclusion once again on the “Gold List” from which a winner will be selected, as announced in the December issue of the prestigious international magazine.

The Condé Nast awards, which cover the 350 “best in the world” in all the tourism related sectors are awarded annually in the following categories: Hotels, Resorts, Spas, Countries, Cities, Islands, Car Rental Agencies, Airlines, Cruise Lines, Trains, Technology, Fashion and Beauty.

In the “Airlines” category, Condé Nast Traveller considers criteria such as punctuality, comfort, number of flights, route network, cabin service and safety.

In order to win this prestigious award TAP must have more votes than any other nominee on Condé Nast’s “Gold List” which includes the following companies: Air France, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Iberia, Lan Chile, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, SAS, Singapore, TAM, Thai, Turkish Airlines and Vueling.

Voting takes place online until the end of February 2011 here and is open to all interested parties. As well as voting for their favourites in each category, voters get the chance to win a trip for two on the historic Transcantabrian train.

The fact that TAP holds this award and has been nominated once again, giving it the opportunity to retain the title, is a clear acknowledgement of the company’s focus on quality and its irreplaceable role in the tourism sector.

Malaysian Regional Airline Plans Twice Daily Flights From Singapore to Ipoh

FlyFirefly Sendirian Berhad (Firefly), the regional airline owned by national flag carrier Malaysia Airlines, proposes doubling its flight frequency to twice daily for the service from this capital of northern Perak state to Singapore.

Firefly Managing Director Eddie Leong said here Wednesday the proposal was based on the high demand for the sector which had recorded a 90 per cent take-up rate for each flight.

“Prior to this, Firefly had followed the World Travel Mart in London and had been at the ITB in Berlin recently and we saw a lot of interest for the Ipoh-Singapore route and now they are aware of this direct link between Singapore and Ipoh. Many European companies offer flights to Singapore such as KLM, Air France and British Airways,” he told reporters. Read more

The First-Class Cabin Of Air France’s A380 Jets Showcases Privacy

Nine passengers will have the privilege of flying First Class on each Air France A380 flight starting November 23 when the airline begins commercial flights between Paris and New York. Refined and luxurious, Air France’s First Class is staking its claim as the “most private cabin” of all the A380s in service.
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Air France First European Airlines Use Airbus A380

Air France airline will conduct the first flight by using wide-body aircraft with four engines, the Airbus production. The aircraft used is the Airbus A380. The flight will cross the Atlantic to New York with 538 passengers.
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Air France-KLM Withdraws From Tender For Privatisation Of CSA

Air France-KLM announced on Wednesday that it has informed the Czech Ministry of Finance that it has decided to withdraw from the tender process for the privatisation of Ceske aeroliniea (CSA).
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Auction Of Seats On Inaugural Airbus A380 Flights

Air France will auction seats on two of its Airbus A380 for the inaugural Paris-New-York flight to fund its humanitarian projects.

The online auction for flight will happen in October this year, a press release from the airline said.

The airline said the auction is meant to fund three humanitarian projects supported by its corporate foundation in India, South Africa and France. Read more

Air France-KLM Agreed to Pay $432 million for Alitalia

Air France-KLM Group, Europe’s biggest airline, agreed to pay 323 million euros ($432 million) for 25 percent of Alitalia SpA, beating Deutsche Lufthansa AG for a stake in the reorganized Italian carrier.
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Italia Airlines Company, Alitalia to Meet to OK Air France Deal

Alitalia’s board will meet on Monday to approve the sale of a minority stake to larger rival Air France-KLM after months of negotiations, a source close to the Italian airline said on Thursday. Read more