New rules accumulation and spending miles … As of next year, Air France-KLM Flying Blue will review background fills, its loyalty program, which dates from 2005.
The 12 million members of Flying Blue from next year should discover in detail the new rules on which its teams work with Frederic Kahane, the set of director of loyalty to Air France-KLM also Transavia, Hop , Tarom, Kenya Airways and Air Calin. The latter has unveiled some of the tracks already and already validated daily Les Echos. We learn that this reform will be spread over 24 months and meets a double objective: “to improve greatly the satisfaction index, maintaining the economic balance of the program.” Do much better without it costing the company more to the equation is somewhat complicated.
The company initially committed to simplifying the rules for accumulation of miles. It intends to build on this fact that Delta Air Lines. Since 1 January 2015, the faithful passengers of the American company no longer receive miles based on the distance traveled but just the ticket price (excluding tax). Similarly to change status, in addition to a minimum number of flights, must now have spent a minimum amount each year with the company. What further promote the most profitable passengers.
Bad news for Silver cards
It is unclear whether Air France will resume the letter that system or just be inspired, but everything suggests that passengers traveling only personally will have more trouble staying Gold status allowing free access to lounges the company and more broadly in the lounges of the Skyteam alliance.
Air France is also committed to reserve more seats in its planes to those traveling through cheaper tickets “premium” tickets purchased with their miles. The boss of Flying Blue ensures that its program distributes each day to its most loyal customers the equivalent of 1,000 round-trip tickets from Paris to New York. Without specifying all the new conditions of access to its ticketing “Prime”, Frederic Kahane ensures, for example, it takes 20% less miles for European flights. And those who did not accumulate enough can also use them to book hotel nights and pay the bill directly to miles on a dedicated website.
The few thousand customers “Platinum” – the most difficult status to achieve – will be more pampered. They will be entitled to a phone line that will be entirely dedicated to them whatever the nature of the service that Air France-KLM is likely to bring. However, bad news for passengers who do not travel enough to stay Gold. The Silver status will no longer allow priority boarding, baggage delivered first, and priority access to security checks and immigration.
BFM Business (via Google Translate)
New strikes at Air France in January?
Two unions representing Air France staff have called for strikes in January to protest the suspension of several employees in connection with the infamous “shirt-ripping” incident and plans to cut 3,000 jobs over the next two years.
UGICT-CGT, the largest of the two unions, has called for a strike on January 28 to protest the job cuts as well as the legal action taken against five employees involved in an October 5 attack on Air France officials after the airline presented its restructuring plan.
The union is also protesting the airline’s plans to spin off some of its operations.
“In 2016 we’re letting nothing go,” the union wrote in its call for action.
Another union, the much smaller Alter which represents only 10 percent of all Air France pilots, has called for a much longer strike, set to take place between January 10 and 13, “to protest the scandalous disciplinary procedures” involving two of its members.
The two pilots represented by Alter were suspended in October after helping angry demonstrators enter the company’s headquarters near the Charles de Gaulle airport in connection with the October layoff announcement.
Violent demonstration in October
Pictures of two Air France executives fleeing the October demonstration – dress shirts and suit jackets ripped – made headlines around the world and set off a war of words between French authorities and leaders sympathetic to the Air France workers. Two security guards were also injured in the incident.
French President François Hollande condemned the violence as “unacceptable”, saying it threatened the France’s image, Prime Minister Manuel Valls called the attackers “thugs”.
The union has asked the government, which owns 17.6 percent of the airline, to take a larger stake in the carrier and to become more involved in the talks – but the government has declined.
France 24 English
Mauritius-Paris flight of Air France diverts to Mombasa over bomb threat
An Air France passenger jet flying from Mauritius to Paris has made an emergency landing in Kenya after an alleged explosive device was found on board. Kenya’s airports authority is referring to the device as a “bomb,” saying two “suspicious” passengers from the flight are being investigated.
Kenya Airports Authority said that experts have discovered a bomb inside Air France plane.
“The explosive was carried away to a safe place outside the airport. Bomb experts from the Kenya Navy took the bomb away to safety,” the authority said on Facebook.
The security is checking two passengers “who appear suspicious,” it said.
The Boeing 777 Air France flight 463 was carrying 459 passengers and 14 crew on board, police spokesman Charles Owino said.
The plane was flying to Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport when it was forced to land in the Moi International Airport in the Kenyan city of Mombasa.
According to Owino, all the passengers and crew members have been safely evacuated. He added that bomb experts are currently investigating the device that was found in the bathroom.
“The pilots requested an emergency landing when a device suspected to be an explosive was discovered in the lavatory,” Owino said.
Air France said in a statement that the passengers and crew “are [being] taken care of by Mombasa’s airport ground staff and will be accommodated.”
“An investigation is being led by the authorities to identify the source of the threat…This Mombasa-Paris flight is scheduled to leave in the late afternoon of Sunday, December 20,” the statement added.
RT News
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