France

Air France increases Paris (Roissy)-Havana flights

October 18, 2015 By bernard.montrel@gmail.com

AIRFRANCE in winter season plans to operate additional flights on Paris CDG – Havana route. From 25OCT15, AF will introduce 11th weekly service (compared to winter 2014/15 season), while adding a 12th weekly service from 22DEC15. The 12th weekly flight that operates on Tuesdays as AF4012/4013 is served as a charter flight, therefore reservation to general public is not available.

AF940 CDG1045 – 1510HAV 772 3
AF940 CDG1045 – 1510HAV 77W 256
AF946 CDG1405 – 1825HAV 77W D
AF4012 CDG1630 – 2110HAV 343 2

AF945 HAV1750 – 0835+1CDG 772 3
AF945 HAV1750 – 0835+1CDG 77W 256
AF943 HAV2045 – 1135+1CDG 77W D
AF4013 HAV2315 – 1420+1CDG 343 2
Airline Route

Present for 17 years in Cuba, Air France supports the island’s tourist development and is the leading airline between Havana and Europe. The Company is offering up to 11 weekly flights this winter. In summer 2016, Air France will offer up to 3 additional frequencies to Havana from Paris-Charles de Gaulle compared to the 2015 summer season.
From late March to mid-May 2016, the Company will operate 10 weekly flights between the two destinations. From mid-June to late August 2016, Air France will offer 9 flight frequencies. For the entire season, there will be one scheduled daily flight.
Flight schedule (in local time)
Daily flight
AF946: Leaves Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 16:30, arrives in Havana at 20:25;
AF943: Leaves Havana at 22:55, arrives at Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 14:00 the following day.
Additional flight (up to three weekly flights during the 2016 summer season)
AF940: Leaves Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 11:00, arrives in Havana at 14:55
AF945: Leaves Havana at 17:25, arrives at Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 8:35 the following day.
In addition, Air France and Cubana de Aviación are involved in a code-share agreement allowing the Cuban national airline to offer over 30 destinations in Europe and the Caribbean thanks to the Air France network. Similarly, Air France customers can access Cubana de Aviación’s domestic market. Both airlines want to further develop their cooperation to continue to expand connecting traffic beyond Paris and Havana.
Since 2011, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has been connecting Havana to Amsterdam-Schiphol with 3 weekly flights in summer (on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays) and 4 in winter (on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays), operated by Airbus A330-200 with 243 seats.
In 2014, close to 420,000 passengers chose Air France or KLM to travel between Europe and Cuba.
FTN News

François Hollande calls for “peaceful negotiations”

October 6, 2015 By bernard.montrel@gmail.com

French President François Hollande condemned on Tuesday the violent protests by Air France staff at plans to slash thousands of jobs, saying it damaged the country’s image.
“Labour talks are important. And when they are disrupted by violence, by disputes that take unacceptable forms, we see that it can have consequences on [France’s] image,” Hollande said at the inauguration of a naval school in the northern city of Le Havre on Tuesday.
The Socialist French president called for “peaceful negotiations”, stressing the need for “a dialogue between responsible employers… and responsible unions”.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls also condemned the violence on Tuesday during a specially arranged visit to Air France’s headquarters near the Charles de Gaulle airport outside of Paris.
“It would be a drama for our country if a business so symbolic were to find itself in trouble because a minority refuses to adapt to a changing world,” he said.
Hollande and Valls’ comments come a day after hundreds of angry Air France workers stormed a meeting to discuss mass job cuts at the company’s headquarters, resulting in two executives being forced to flee with the shirts ripped off their backs.
The violence erupted shortly after Air France executives informed the company’s central committee that 2,900 jobs would be slashed by 2017 as part of a vast cost-cutting programme aimed at making the airline more competitive.
Air France, part of the Franco-Dutch Air France-KLM group, reported losses of EUR619 million in the first half of 2015 and has overall debt of around EUR5.4 billion.
Fears over Air France’s future
Air France’s financial troubles have sparked speculation over its future as the country’s flag-carrier. Just last week, Bruno Le Roux, leader of the French Socialist Party at the lower National Assembly, raised the possibility that the company could be taken over by a foreign firm.
“The French flag is now at risk of disappearing. Air France will certainly always exist. But will it be French? Will it not? We’re now seeing companies, particularly Gulf companies, looking our way,” Le Roux, author of a report on France’s flagging airline industry, said in an interview with France Info radio on October 2.
While it is certainly possible that Air France could one day be bought by a foreign company, sector analysts view this as unlikely in the short term.
“Of course it’s conceivable, but in the long term, not in the upcoming trimester,” Thierry Vigoureux, French magazine Le Point’s aviation journalist, told FRANCE 24.
Vigoureux also views a takeover by a Gulf-based company as unlikely, despite Le Roux’s hints.
“European Union rules forbid non-European companies from holding more than 49 percent of the capital. Furthermore, no one has expressed an interest in buying Air France,” Vigoureux points out.
For the time being, Air France remains off the market.
France 24

Delta Air Lines announces new Raleigh-Durham -> Paris flight

September 24, 2015 By bernard.montrel@gmail.com

RALEIGH – Delta will connect the Research Triangle to the world with nonstop service from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport beginning May 12, 2016. The flights will be available for sale beginning Saturday.
The flight will operate in conjunction with the airline’s European joint venture partners Air France, KLM and Alitalia using 164-seat, Boeing 757-200ER aircraft.
“The Research Triangle is an important market for Delta, and our new Paris flight is the latest in a series of Delta investments in the region, both at the airport and in the community,” said Bob Somers, Delta’s Vice President – Global Sales. “For business or leisure, we look forward to serving our customers across the Atlantic as we strengthen our relationship with the region, and the region’s ties to the world.”
From Delta’s joint venture hub in Paris, customers can connect to more than 75 onward destinations throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa, increasing global access for a region with strong international ties through its world-class universities and global companies. The daily flight will be Delta’s 13th destination from Paris and the only nonstop link between the two cities.
“RDU and Delta Air Lines have been business partners for more than 40 years. During this time, Delta has increased its presence at RDU to meet the demand of our region, which it does today with nonstop service to 20 cities,” said Mike Landguth, CEO and President of RDU Airport Authority. “Today, we celebrate Delta’s latest expansion in our market with nonstop service to Paris’ Charles-DeGaulle International Airport. We thank Delta for its continued investment in our community and for connecting our region to the world.”
“Air service development, particularly international service, is a key element in the competitiveness and growth of the Research Triangle Park. Global collaboration and face-to-face communication supports research and opens economic development doors worldwide for the Park, our region and the state,” said Bob Geolas, CEO and President of the Research Triangle Foundation. “The future of the RTP is intertwined with RDU. Together we will ensure that those who enter our port of entry to do business in our region have a world-class experience second to none.”
Delta is the largest airline at Raleigh-Durham International Airport with more than 60 daily departures, and the new flight is just one component of Delta’s recent investments in the region.
The Delta Sky Club at RDU now offers enhanced food options, premium drink offerings, Starbucks coffee and an automated, self-service espresso machine. In August, Delta launched an alliance with Duke University to embed the airline and its employees in campus and alumni events, academics and career recruiting and counseling, all in an effort to become a lifelong travel partner to future customers. Delta also enjoys an existing marketing agreement with University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.
Delta Air Lines