Air France presented (17-Oct-2023) a project to employee representative bodies to adapt its domestic service to and from Paris by summer 2026. The "rise of videoconferencing, the drop in domestic business travel and the growing shift toward rail", have led "to a structural fall in demand on Air France's domestic point-to-point network". Between 2019 and 2023, traffic on domestic routes out of Paris Orly fell by 40%, and even by 60% for day return trips. Following this development, connections to and from Paris would be operated according to the following principles:
- Air France would operate all its domestic and international flights from its Paris CDG hub. The Corsica public service order (PSO) would be the only exception, and continue to be operated out of Paris Orly, with Air France having submitted a joint bid with Air Corsica for the renewal of this PSO from 2024;
- Transavia would become the Air France group's reference operator from Paris Orly. Transavia would stay the course of its development, namely thanks to its growing fleet of new Airbus A320neo family aircraft;
Additional project details include:
- Air France to continue serving Toulouse, Marseille and Nice, as well as the French Overseas departments from Paris Orly, until 2026;
- Air France to bolster the number of flights from Paris CDG to Toulouse, Marseille, Nice, Pointe-à-Pitre, Fort-de-France and Saint-Denis de La Réunion as the process moves forward. The group also intends to position Transavia on services to Toulouse, Marseille and Nice from Paris Orly from summer 2026;
- Group's capacity between Paris and Toulouse, Marseille and Nice would be maintained at 90% of its current level, and at 100% for routes between Paris and the French overseas territories;
- Initiative is expected to help Air France "maintain a strong brand presence in all the markets it serves", "be more responsive to rapidly changing travel demand", "optimise the use of each airline's resources, make the offer clearer for customers and improve Air France's competitiveness";
- As part of the flights currently operating out of Paris Orly would be redeployed to Paris CDG, the initiative would have limited impact on jobs in Toulouse, Marseille and Nice and would be managed solely on the basis of voluntary transfers and departures. The flight crew bases at these stations would be maintained;
- Regarding employees based in Paris Orly, staffing needs at Paris CDG will be such by 2026 to guarantee everyone an equivalent position at the Roissy site;
- The company will begin a process of information and consultation with employee representative bodies very shortly, along with negotiations with representative trade unions, in order to define the best way to support all affected employees. [more - original PR]