Profile: Air France-KLM

Air France-KLM is the leading group in terms of international traffic on departure from Europe. It offers its customers access to a network covering 314 destinations in 116 countries. With a fleet of 548 aircraft and 101.4 million passengers carried in 2018, Air France-KLM operates up to 2,300 daily flights. We profile the company to find out more about the award-winning services it has to offer.

Due to celebrate 100 years of passenger excellence from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and 86 years from Air France, later this year, Air France-KLM is committed to offering passengers cutting-edge services and an exceptional quality product.

Flying from 17 regional departure points, Air France-KLM provides UK passengers with seamless travel to a multitude of worldwide destinations from the convenience of their local airport. The UK airports that are serviced are in Aberdeen, Belfast, Bristol, Birmingham, Durham-Tees Valley, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Humberside, Inverness, Leeds, Bradford, London City, London Heathrow, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich and Exeter.

With more than 100 million passengers carried in 2018, the group is now the leading European airline for long-haul traffic. Air France-KLM is also a member of the SkyTeam alliance which has 19-member airlines, offering customers access to a global network of over 14,500 daily flights to more than 1,150 destinations in more than 175 countries.

Its Flying Blue frequent flyer programme is one of the leaders in Europe, with over 15 million members. Together with its partners Delta Air Lines and Alitalia, Air France-KLM operates the largest transatlantic joint venture with more than 275 daily flights. The group also offers cargo transport and aeronautical maintenance solutions.

Alongside its own Flying Blue programme, Air France-KLM offers a company loyalty programme aimed at SMEs called BlueBiz. UK SMEs can sign up for Bluebiz for free and gain the opportunity to earn points (Blue Credits) on each and every flight operated by Air France, KLM and its partners.

Blue Credits are awarded on every ticket, a flexibility that is absolutely necessary to help UK SMEs take control on their budgets whilst recognising their different needs. There is no limitation on ticket cost, cabin destination or discount level. Blue Credits can be exchanged easily online for free tickets, upgrades, ancillaries and carbon offsetting with no additional fees for taxes or surcharges required.

With more than 100 million passengers carried in 2018, the group is now the leading European airline for long-haul traffic. Air France-KLM is also a member of the SkyTeam alliance which has 19-member airlines, offering customers access to a global network of over 14,500 daily flights to more than 1,150 destinations in more than 175 countries.”

Air France-KLM is proud to be able to offer the SMEs an indispensable choice as a result of its regional departure points, linking the UK businesses to an extensive global network of more than over 300 destinations. This worldwide connectivity assists economic development in the regions, with on average 100 flights per day from the UK to hubs in Paris and Amsterdam.

Looking towards the future, societal and environmental commitment is at the heart of Air France-KLM’s priorities, to reconcile on its growth, social progress and environmental awareness. It concentrates on these four main issues; reducing its environmental impact, integrating sustainable development into its products and services, promoting a responsible human resources policy and contributing to the many developments of the territories where it operates.

In light of this effort, The Dow Jones Sustainability index (DJSI), the main international index that is evaluating companies on their performance in terms of their sustainable development, has recognised Air France-KLM’ as a leader in the “Airlines” category and the broader “Transport” category sector, for fouteen consecutive years. Air France-KLM is the only airline to be included in the European ranking.

To keep relevant in a rapidly developing industry, Air France-KLM continuously invests in new aircraft. A modern fleet allows the group to offer its passengers enhanced comfort, generate significant fuel savings and to meet its corporate sustainability commitments by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and noise pollution for residents.

Customer experience on board flights is also a priority for Air France-KLM. In January, Air France’s unveiled its brand-new Business, Premium Economy and Economy Airbus A330 long-haul travel cabins on select routes. A total of 15 Airbus A330s will be refurbished by the beginning of 2020. KLM is also continuing to deploy its new World Business Class and Economy cabins. As from January 2019, all KLM long-haul flights will offer the new World Business Class, equipped with full flat seats and all the Boeing 777, Boeing 787 and Airbus A330 aircraft will be equipped with the new Economy cabins. This enhancement of the group’s fleet shows its commitment to providing clients with socially responsible methods of transport that are comfortable and safe.

Another recent development for the group is the expanded trans-Atlantic joint venture between Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic. Upon completion, Air France KLM will then acquire a 31 per cent stake in Virgin Atlantic.

Thanks to this latest partnership, Air France KLM customers now have access to 24 new North America routes which are operated by Virgin Atlantic/Delta departing the UK including connections via London Heathrow or Manchester. This new development offers Virgin Atlantic customers up to 58 new routes from 18 UK airports across the Atlantic via Paris and Amsterdam.

The partnership gives customers more flexibility when planning a cross-Atlantic trip, by combining flights operated by Air France, KLM, Virgin Atlantic and Delta. Customers booking on a codeshare benefit from seamless connections, and a single booking reference. Customers travelling on codeshare flights will also be able to earn miles, and redeem them via their own airline loyalty scheme.

Air France-KLM has recently announced capacity increases on its routes from Cork, Aberdeen, Inverness and Newcastle to Amsterdam and Paris. This commitment to UK regions will see better connections and choice for the group’s passengers and make the airline’s worldwide network more easily accessible for SMEs based outside of the UK and Irish capitals.

Ultimately, all these developments show Air France-KLM’s ongoing dedication to strengthening its UK presence, and moving forward the group will continue to enhance this and support the small and medium-sized enterprises across the nation and beyond to travel safely, swiftly and succinctly.

Contact Information:
Company: Air France-KLM
Website: https://www.bluebiz.com/en/