Air France-KLM’s new CEO ready to close ‘millennial’ unit Joon

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/>