Air France: 'No concrete plans' to set up new LCC

Air France said it presently has "no concrete plans" to set up a new low-cost domestic carrier in a bid to win back market share in France, as reported in Les Echos last week. Dubbed "Air France Express," the newspaper reported the LCC could start service as early as next year from a series of bases across southern France, including Marseilles, Nice and Toulouse. According to the report, pilots would be based in the regions and operate up to 25% more hours.

"Air France is reflecting on how it can maintain and develop its market share in France," a spokesman for Air France KLM Group told ATW, pointing out that "for the moment there are no concrete plans" regarding an LCC. "There is nothing to confirm," he said.

AF KLM Group already has an in-house LCC/charter carrier, Transavia.com, which is based in the Netherlands. Transavia France has its main base at Paris Orly. The carriers operate international flights to mainly holiday destinations in Europe and Africa aboard a fleet of 737NGs.

In April, AF launched a new concept on its medium-haul flight, NEO or New European Offer, in an effort to counter increasing competition from high-speed rail and LCCs such as easyJet and Ryanair.

In the first five months of its current fiscal year, April though August, AF KLM carried 21 million passengers on its European network, down 4.8% from the year-ago period. RPKs fell 5.3% on an 8.3% cut in ASKs. This compares with a 3.5% drop in network-wide passenger boardings, a 1.3% decrease in RPKs and a 3.1% cut in ASKs for the period.