Air France is launching a drive to win back some of the traffic it has lost to the TGV high-speed train on its domestic market by lowering ticket prices and simplifying its fare structure.
The effort, mainly aimed at the Paris-Marseilles route, will also see an increase in flights from Nice to other major French cities to fill in the void left by the failures of Aéris, Air Lib and Air Littoral. Air France generally loses 40-50% of the Paris Orly and 10-15% of the Paris Charles de Gaulle markets to destinations served in 3h or less by the high-speed train.
Meanwhile, Air France will offer 9% more seat kilometre capacity in its 2004 summer schedules than last year. This plan has not been modified following the Madrid terrorist attacks, but Air France says it will watch developments.
CHRISTINA MACKENZIE / PARIS
Source: Flight International
