Like many French
travellers flying out of Paris, I always look to Air France first. The miles
that build on my frequent flyer account are one reason, even though I am now
more of an infrequent flyer. But it’s not a decisive one any longer. After all,
for short flights, low-cost carriers are usually cheaper and for the long haul,
those of the newer airlines from Asia or the Gulf are always worth looking at. In addition, Air France’s fares tend be lower
for passengers starting their journey outside France than for those in their
home market.
It’s probably no exaggeration
to say that if the French state, Air France’s majority shareholder, had not
been unstinting in its support for the airline over the past two or three
decades, it would no longer be flying today. But this is France, and
no French government could ever have countenanced its very own flag carrier
going the way of Pan Am, TWA, Sabena or Swissair. To its credit, the state started, some years
ago, to prepare it for a more competitive market. The airline’s top managers, usually
recruited from the senior echelons of the civil service, were instructed to do
what most industries confronted with globalisation have been doing, retrench,
consolidate and cut costs. A merger with the Dutch carrier KLM was engineered, an
alliance called Skyteam (that so many Air France stewards and stewardesses have
difficulty in pronouncing properly in English!) was formed with Delta in the U.S
and a number of other carriers, some of airline’s equity was sold to investors,
staff travel privileges were reduced, longer working hours and more flexible
working practices were slowly but surely negotiated. At the start of this process,
at a time when I was still a frequent flyer, I distinctly remember complaining
to a hostess about the meagre tray of semi-edible goodies that was the only
food served on a three hour flight. “Isn’t the company ashamed to serve passengers
with a tray like this?” I asked. Her answer was as cryptic as it was final: “the
company isn’t, but I am.”
Many years and many
strikes later, one of which nearly disrupted the Euro 2016 soccer championship,
Air France is slowly attracting more passengers and regaining profitability. It has established a low-cost subsidiary
called Hop for domestic services, Transavia a low-cost subsidiary for the
European market and is in the process of negotiating with its unions the launch
of a long-haul alternative carrier called Boost. Cabin staff in all of these
ventures are expected to work longer hours for the same pay. For the reduced
number of flights still under the Air France livery it has successfully revamped
cabins and in-flight services. The state has gone as far is it can to help
without falling foul of EU rules on competition and state subsidies, notably by
directing the Paris Airports Group (ADP), of which it is also the majority shareholder,
to refurbish old and build a number of new well-equipped terminals at Orly and Charles
de Gaulle airports, reserved for Air France and its code sharing colleagues. One
of most recent terminals for instance, Terminal 2E at Charles de Gaulle airport,
can compare favourably with the best airports in the world.
The real problem,
as in so many things in France, is a cultural one. Air France is a cameo of
France. Unlike the pragmatic Dutch who
have put their economy, and their flag carrier, into good working order a lot faster,
the cultural outlook of many employees of Air France is still coloured by the prestige of its
glorious past (the company was founded in 1933) and the heroic era of French aviation, the Aéropostale and figures like Mermoz and Saint-Exupéry. Like France,
the airline has been too slow to adapt to the impact of globalisation, bringing
keen competition from new and well-funded carriers, greater and cheaper travel opportunities
and changing customer expectations. Unions,
particularly the powerful pilots union, have resisted change, especially if it meant
working longer hours for the same pay and they have ruthlessly exploited the
fear of damaging France’s international standing to extract concessions from
management and government. Constructive social dialogue is difficult not to say
impossible as out-dated management practices have collided with excessive demands
of militant unions. Everyone remembers the pictures of the airline’s Head of HR
having his shirt ripped off his back in a violent scuffle with union
representatives only a couple of years ago.
But through it all,
Air France, like the mother country, has slowly, if painfully, adapted to globalisation.
And in spite of everything, it remains for me the essence of French elegance
and style. Just as George Orwell described the iconic red pillar-box as quintessentially
English, there is something quintessentially French about boarding a sparkling
Air France aircraft for the flight home from Seoul, Johannesburg or San Francisco
and being greeted at the top of the steps by a beautifully turned out stewardess
with a dazzling smile and a generous “Bonjour Monsieur, bienvenue à bord”. At
such moments you know what it means to fly the flag.
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