Air France has indicated that
Indigo could find a place in SkyTeam, a global alliance of airlines including
Air France. This could boost the connectivity options for Indigo.
Meanwhile, the Charles de Gaulle Airport in
Paris plans to make the airport more and more attractive for Indian passengers
to use it as a transit point for travel within Europe or to the US. Excerpts
from a joint interview with Mr Alexandre de Juniac, Chairman and CEO, Air
France, and Mr Pierre Graff, Chairman and CEO of Paris Airport.What does the 'Hub 2012' plan for Charles De
Gaulle Airport, Paris, mean for Indian passengers?Mr Alexandre de Juniac,
Chairman and CEO, Air France : India has been a known destination for Air
France. But it is also a difficult market due to those carriers who are putting
enormous pressure and terrible competition. What we would like to convince
Indian passengers, especially those who are in the high-end segment or business
passengers who want quality service, is that it is much more convenient to take
a direct flight rather than go through Gulf countries.One of the key elements is conviction and that
is attached with the quality of service to which Air France is associated. The
second key element is efficiency and comfort which is provided by the hub.
Especially for those who want to go to Europe, Paris is best located as the
geographic centre.What do you
have for the Indian carriers?Mr Pierre Graff, Chairman
and CEO of Paris Airport: We are very interested in the fast growing
country and we are doing our best to attract passengers from it. My hope is that
Air France is capable of attracting maximum passengers. In 2011, the traffic
from India increased by 18.4 per cent. From China it was 9 per cent, so growth
from India was very impressive. Our policy is to develop best to attract fast
growing traffic. In Europe, the market is more mature but growing quiet slow. So
it is very important to us to capture emerging economies such as India and
China.ADJ: In Air France, we have specific means to
address Indian customers. We have Indian staff speaking various Indian languages
on board and on ground. So it is easy to welcome Indians in France, especially
for those who are not comfortable with French.What is the percentage of revenue you get from
India?ADJ: Air France KLM gets 3-4 per cent of revenue
from India. It has been stable. China has increased much faster and its share is
5-6 per cent. We expect China's share to double by 2018 and India should do the
same. Now the key thing is competition in India, they capture more traffic from
India to Europe than China to Europe.Air France and KLM are part of the SkyTeam but
SkyTeam does not have a presence in India. Are you looking to take steps in this
direction?ADJ: We are looking for a partner. We cannot name
the partner. It is difficult to give a timeline for getting a partner on board,
considering the current financial situation of the Indian aviation
industry.Indigo is a low-cost
carrier, but it could be partner of SkyTeam. If we consider Indigo network would
feed big Indian cities, then we would consider that. However, let me clarify
that no formal discussion is taking place at this moment.We have three partners in China. It would be a
pity if we do not get a partner from India.Any plan to change the frequency to India or
bring the A380 to India?ADJ: Difficult to say. The Indian market is a
difficult market for us. It is very price sensitive. Business traffic is not
very big. We are not the only company facing such a situation. The Indian market
for European carriers is difficult. Putting A380 for India is not in the
short-term plan. It could be in the coming 3-4 years, but not now.What could be the impact of carbon tax, being
imposed by the European Union?PG: First, there should not be the impression that
non-European carriers will reduce operation in and out of Europe, as there is a
market. I do not see major departure from the current trends by the Indian,
Chinese or US carriers
What I see perhaps is
retaliatory actions on European carriers. These carriers could be levied
additional tax, additional fees, and more overflying charges. You can slow down
the distribution of traffic rights. We will try to avoid the situation through
our own means. We need to take a decision within the multilateral frame work and
not in unilateral framework.ADJ: Price of carbon ETS is $8 a tonne. For Air
France-KLM, at this price the cost for buying equivalent number of ETS to pay
equivalent number of credit would be ?40-60 million. We have fuel surcharge
which is a major challenge for all the airlines and now if we increase carbon
ETS, it would be another burden on passengers. Impact on fare would be 70 cents
to 1 dollar if the price remains below $10/tonne.
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