Air France plans low-cost start-up to repel long-haul rivals

Air France-KLM Group said it’s examining a range of options for entering the low-cost, long-haul travel market in a move that would parallel developments at Lufthansa. The airline has been working on plans for the venture for more than a year as it seeks to respond to competition from carriers including Norwegian Air Shuttle, French Blue and more traditional foes such as Lufthansa, CE Jean-Marc Janaillac said. Expanding into the no-frills long-haul market would mark a departure for Air France-KLM, which has so far focused efforts to develop a lower-cost model on short-range European routes. Janaillac said Tuesday the company can no longer ignore the emerging threat from a range of contenders. Janaillac didn’t say which markets the new business might serve and what aircraft it would fly. <br/>