Smith sees Transavia as key tool to counter loss of Air France’s Orly slots

Air France-KLM group CE Ben Smith believes the flexibility union agreements have given it to develop low-cost unit Transavia at Paris Orly provides the group with a tool to help offset the loss of slots at the airport. Group carrier Air France is releasing 18 daily slots Paris Orly as one of the conditions for the European Commission’s recent approval of a French government E4b bailout. Smith said it was very frustrating to give up the Orly slots as it is already challenging enough for airlines to recover from the coronavirus. “We are a global carrier, so it is very difficult to align around these conditions. But they are what they are, and we are fortunate we operate from two [Paris] airports,” Smith says. “Eighteen slots, nine round trips, yes it’s tough. But we are in the middle of a major transformation at Orly,” he says, pointing to action taken to tackle losses of over E200m in the French domestic market. “Even before the crisis, we were in big transformation.” That transformation includes replacing higher cost regional operations at Orly with low-cost unit Transavia, following labour agreements brokered with pilots. Smith notes this has enabled a doubling of Transavia’s operations at Orly.<br/>