Originally Posted by NickB
(Post 31707339)
I got the impression that the plan was to retire the A380s altogether although I have not checked the timescale for this so there may well be an interim issue.
I get the impression if they could get A350s faster, the A380 would be dumped even earlier than that! |
Originally Posted by bodory
(Post 31706856)
Not at once the word "Skyteam" in the presentation. And the pic on page 8 definitely highlights the JV, not the alliance.
FT just doesn't really have an emoji that conveys the intent of my post, which one might call mildly facetious or similar. :D |
t's good to see a thruthful and detailed strategy presentation, rather than the usual half-cooked and biased traditional AF presentation.
Great idea to introduce J on domestic. I got Chinese colleagues who complain about getting into the sardine seating on a Paris-NCE flight after an excellent J longhaul flight. Having domestic J is a must for longhaul transit pax. And I am confident that some PtP pax will pay extra to get the middle seat unoccupied. Regarding longhaul, I am not sure that AF means to increase the number of J seat per plane.but rather sub several A350s for the existing A380. Also worried about focusing on "premium" rather than J. It might suggest increasing PE rather than J. |
Originally Posted by brunos
(Post 31708021)
Also worried about focusing on "premium" rather than J. It might suggest increasing PE rather than J.
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Originally Posted by San Gottardo
(Post 31706892)
One thing was a real eye-opener for me: how the agreed relative growth of AF vs. KL constrained them to put more Y seats and less premium seats on AF planes. Moving to different KPIs (and a couple of other things) now allows them to put more premium seats on AF planes. Maybe that also means more Premiere seats, which would be in line with Ben Smith's point about making the product more difficult to market when it actually offers more destinations and flights.
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An excellent presentation. The Air France story is encouraging. Obviously some costs are beyond its control but if AF can trim down the domestic network and leverage the strength of its premium offering, profitability will increase. Crucial will be avoiding the strikes that have had such a negative impact on customers, staff and financial results.
The focus on flight completion and operational performance is a no-brainer and will surely pay dividends. I'm intrigued by the piece on bots rebooking pax in cases of IRROPs. Is that already happening or is there still a human filter there? On KLM, what most stood out for me was the headcount slide, it's interesting to see how old the workforce is. So many staff have 20 or even 30+ years service. Definitely KLM has an opportunity to hire more younger talent and a more diverse (less white, less European) slate of staff to further make itself relevant globally. |
Originally Posted by HalconBCN
(Post 31712702)
On KLM, what most stood out for me was the headcount slide, it's interesting to see how old the workforce is. So many staff have 20 or even 30+ years service. Definitely KLM has an opportunity to hire more younger talent and a more diverse (less white, less European) slate of staff to further make itself relevant globally.
Anyway the ground stuff does seem to be quite diverse, especially in less senior roles. |
Originally Posted by Ben Lipsey
(Post 31708932)
Premium = F/J/PY. It should be listed on the slide.
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I think the choices have been made, the market moved to a better product, and AF is not going to consider it necessary at this point in the lifetime of the product to overhaul it. It certainly can't be made better by throwing more staffing at it, so why bother?
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Originally Posted by caliform
(Post 31717090)
I think the choices have been made, the market moved to a better product, and AF is not going to consider it necessary at this point in the lifetime of the product to overhaul it. It certainly can't be made better by throwing more staffing at it, so why bother?
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The mediocre PE seat is another example of the AF way. They get some great AF idea, find that competition gets better seats but persist rather than accepting their mistake. They believe that AF wonderful brand image and elegant FAs will make up for it.
NEV is another example. They introduced NEV in 2004 while other airlines were introducing flat beds. Instead of accepting that their product was outdated they kept it (with some enhancements) for over a decade, before timidly starting to introduce flat beds. IMO, the major issue is not increasing the number of premium seats, but filling them with pax. The emphasis on "premium cabin", meaning J+PE, would suggest that AF thinks of increasing the number of PE rather than J. I could be wrong, but until they get flat beds throughout the fleet (scheduled 2022)or later knowing AF), J will be a tough sale. |
Originally Posted by Ben Lipsey
(Post 31708932)
Premium = F/J/PY. It should be listed on the slide.
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Originally Posted by KLflyerRalph
(Post 31718660)
Nice to see Ben Smith's chief of staff on the FB forum, following discussions!
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Originally Posted by KLflyerRalph
(Post 31718660)
Nice to see Ben Smith's chief of staff on the FB forum, following discussions!
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