Air France-KLM Group is ready to kill Joon, the airline it launched a year ago to woo young adults. Air France signed an agreement with unions representing cabin crew to study the discontinuation of Joon, the company said Thursday. The lower-cost airline, its 13 aircraft and 600 cabin crew will be integrated into Air France’s fleet, according to union representatives at Joon. Joon, which refers to “jeune,” or “young” in French, aimed to win over millennials with lower fares, organic food offerings and video streaming. Instead, the brand “was difficult to understand from the outset for customers, for employees, for markets and for investors,” Paris-based Air France said. The decision marks one of the first major strategic moves by Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith, the former Air Canada executive who took over in September. Joon gained criticism even before its launch for patronizing younger travellers. “What we care about are the same things that old people care about: cheap, reliable flights that have got no hidden costs,” humorist Paul Taylor said on “What’s Up France,” his Canal Plus TV show. “Maybe instead of trying to create a new condescending airline, try to fix the ones you already got.”<br/>
sky
Air France will suspend its flights to Saudi Arabia from Feb. 1 due to the route’s poor economic performance, the company said Thursday. Direct flights between Paris and the Saudi capital Riyadh will now be ensured by Saudi Arabian Airlines as part of a cooperation agreement between the two firms, the French airliner said. “Due to the economic performance and in view of the cooperation with Saudi Arabian Airlines on this route, the Air France-operated flights will be suspended,” Air France said. <br/>
Garuda Indonesia is bringing music to the skies with a series of live acoustic concerts on domestic flights, the airline said. Passengers will be serenaded at 35,000 feet in a scheme aimed at wooing millennials "who want a different flight experience", airline spokesman M. Ikhsan Rosan said. The carrier held its first in-flight concert on Wednesday, when two musicians performed for a captive audience aboard a flight between the capital, Jakarta, and the holiday island of Bali. Garuda said sets would last 10 to 15 minutes on select flights, and there would be a focus on promoting upcoming talent. <br/>