Air France pilots vote to accept creation of low-cost subsidiary Boost

With a turnout of 73.8%, 58.1% of Air France pilots have voted to accept the creation of a low-cost Air France KLM subsidiary according to the SNLP union. However, the union also confirmed that while the vote clarified the pilots’ position, it was not a unilateral acceptance of the carrier’s proposals for Boost, the newly proposed airline. Additional guarantees would have to be provided by the company which would necessitate further discussion.
According to the president of SNPL Air France Philippe Evain: “We will continue to study the project in this new context and work to ensure it is a growth driver, including strong guarantees for Air France pilots.”
Air France anticipates the launch of the low-cost carrier, which will target the long-haul sector of the market, by the end of this year or early in 2018.
Jean-Marc Janaillac, CEO of Air-France KLM, announced the intended launch of Boost in November 2016 as part of a long-haul network-targeted growth of between two and three percent per year to 2020. Boost has been created with the intention to drive growth at the Charles de Gaulle hub.
According to Air France-KLM, Boost will be “focussed on ultra-competitive markets and will enable the group to go on the offensive by opening new routes, re-opening routes closed due to their lack of profitability and maintaining routes under threat.”
Boost will help the Paris hub gain “renewed dynamism” with its simple offer on the medium-to-long-haul network, while the Amsterdam hub will be reinforced by closer coordination between Transavia and KLM.