AVIATION: The spirit of the “start-up”, Joon of this brand should help gain (and maintain) market share ..
- Joon company of the Air France KLM Group, made its first flight on Friday.
- She wants to attract customers rather young.
- Leaders of Air France ensure that this is not a new “low cost”.
Departure: Paris-CDG. Destination: Barcelona. Joon The airline performs Friday its first commercial flight. The new subsidiary of Air France KLM, which is a rather young clientele , must be an “innovation lab” for the group, in the words of its CEO, Jean-Michel Mathieu. This winter, she will serve several cities in Europe (Porto, Berlin, Lisbon), before further destinations in the summer of 2018 as Fortaleza (Brazil) and Cape Town (South Africa).
Sur le réseau long-courrier, ce sont 5 destinations qui seront desservies par #JOON à partir du printemps 2018 depuis @ParisAeroport CDG ! #WeFlyJoon ????✈️
???????? Fortaleza
???????? Mahé
???????? Le Caire
???????? Le Cap
???????? Téhéran pic.twitter.com/5ce9EKW94w— Air France Newsroom (@AFnewsroom) 30 November 2017
hese cities were not chosen at random: much actually corresponds to destinations previously served by Air France, but which were not profitable, because of too high cost. In the “transferring” to Joon, the Franco-Dutch group therefore hopes to make profit while maintaining market share.
Hostesses and stewards recruited externally
To meet this challenge, the new company must cut costs compared to those of its “big sister” Air France. “The launch of Joon will allow us to generate a productivity gain of 18% over the long-haul and 15% on the medium-haul” explained early September Jean-Marc Janaillac, CEO of Air France, in an interview Les Echos .
To save money, Joon will therefore recruit flight attendants (or PNC, commercial air crew) under specific contracts, with a much less advantageous status – and much cheaper – than their colleagues of Air France. A measure that does not pass in PNC unions, which call for a day of “mobilization” on Friday to request a “single contract”.
“Joon is not a low-cost”
Unions also fear that Joon project is a prelude to a broader restructuring. “Joon sign the beginnings of the end of the social and historical model PNC Air France” are they alarmed in a statement . An alert relativized by the aviation industry expert: “Joon has its place in a global strategy, where Air France is” great “company with Joon to complement this offer by lower portfolio” he believes.
However, the newcomer intends to differentiate the companies ‘low cost’ as RyanAir or EasyJet or even Transavia, another subsidiary of Air France. “Joon is not a low-cost airline” declared late September Franck Terner, CEO of Air France. The planes Joon behave indeed several classes – Business and Economy – and will offer services such as video-on-demand and USB ports for each passenger.
La classe Economie est composée de 141 sièges en configuration 3-3 ! ????????
???? Des prises USB sont également disponibles dans cette classe de voyage. #PaxEx #Avgeek #weflyjoon pic.twitter.com/qAn0A9cKn5— The Travelers Club (@zeTravelersClub) 30 November 2017
Air France therefore relies heavily on this new model to rejuvenate its image. But not all industry experts, and first of its competitors do not do the same analysis. Willie Walsh, CEO of IAG group (British Airways, Iberia, Vueling), which has launched a long-haul low-cost airline, ” hybrid models like Joon are not good ideas.”
It Remains to be seen which IAG or Air France will be right …
