Air France was recently named best European carrier to China. A privilege that the group wants to keep its lead by providing and enhancing the range of products specifically tailored for its Chinese customers.
PARIS- Few travel professionals might remember that Air France was the first airline out of Europe to fly to Mainland China. The year was 1966 and the Cultural Revolution was just starting in a country which – at time- remained mostly ignored from a large public. Some 40 years later, Air France-KLM continues to maintain its leadership to China. The Group offers now flights to nine destinations in Greater China (China PRC, Hong Kong and Taiwan) out of Amsterdam or Paris CDG. Beside “traditional” destinations such as Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai, the French-Dutch carrier opened over the last years flights to secondary destinations such as Chengdu and Hangzhou (KLM, both out of Amsterdam), Xiamen (Air France from CDG) and most recently to Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province. Three times per week, Air France links the metropolis in Central China with a Boeing 777-200 ER with a capacity of 309 seats.
As the group expects to carry this year over two million passengers from and to Greater China, Air France-KLM management revamped the airline’s product to better serve the needs of Chinese customers. Interpreters are systematically available on board all flights in both Mandarin and Cantonese language. Onboard menus include now Chinese specialties; Jasmine tea is served in all classes while a large number of movies are subtitled in Chinese. Air France magazine is also edited in a simplified version in Chinese while a larger number of China’s press is available on board.
All these efforts helped Air France to be rewarded. Travel group TTG China recently awarded to Air France-KLM the title of Best European Airline to China. In 2011, the airline received the Gold List Award of China Tourism while Chinese monthly travel magazine “Voyage” recently praised Air France business class as “the Most Innovative”.
To further improve its visibility and its appeal to Chinese travellers, Air France recently launched a corporate website in Chinese featuring 100 pages of information and features about the airline in Greater China. The inclusion of airlines such as China Southern, China Eastern, Shanghai Airlines and China Airlines (Taiwan) into Skyteam, the global alliance hosts now the most comprehensive offer to Greater China with 128 destinations. Skyteam is due to integrate soon Xiamen Airlines, an offer which will further strengthen the alliance position in the region.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
