Air France-KLM Group will start flights this autumn of its Joon reduced-fare brand that will target millennial customers as Europe’s biggest carrier seeks to fend off growing competition from discounters such as Norwegian Air Shuttle. Joon, previously code-named Boost, will initially offer medium-haul services from the airline’s Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport base and begin long-haul routes in mid-2018, the company said Thursday in a statement, reiterating earlier plans. The unit, which the carrier describes as complementary to the Air France mainline brand rather than a low-cost airline, will be led by digital-services and direct-sales executive Jean-Michel Mathieu, 48. The brand will be positioned to serve primarily adults aged 18 to 35 and is part of Air France-KLM CEO Jean-Marc Janaillac’s strategy to increase earnings amid intensifying competition. The proposed mix of flights to European cities and destinations further away would follow Norwegian Air’s expansion into trans-Atlantic and Asian routes. Janaillac’s plans for Joon have been complicated by the need to end labour strife dating from his predecessor Alexandre de Juniac’s term as he seeks to hold back spending. The name Joon, which echoes the word “jeune” for “young” in French, is “short, punchy and international” and marks a “lifestyle brand” designed for a worldwide audience, Air France said. The business was “entirely designed” to win over millennial-generation customers whose lives revolve around digital technology, it said.<br/>
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Transportation officials Thursday approved a revised US$4b plan from Delta to renovate its terminal at New York's LaGuardia Airport after Goldman, Sachs & Co , a financial partner in the project, exited the deal. Delta now plans to pay for nearly the entire project by itself, although the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will still contribute up to US$600m as previously agreed. "Following a period of fiscal review, Delta has opted to directly fund and finance the costs of its LaGuardia redevelopment project, an arrangement that Delta and Goldman Sachs agree is in the best interest of both parties," Delta said. The Port Authority board signed off on the revised deal at a meeting on Thursday. The authority operates LaGuardia and other major New York City-area airports. The project, expected to be substantially completed by 2026, will improve roadways, expand the East Parking Garage, connect to the central hall, build a new electrical substation and reconstruct taxi and for-hire vehicle areas.<br/>