Article from BTNews 14 JANUARY 2019
Joon faces Air France axe
As predicted (BTN 3 December 2018), Air France is axing its low-cost sister carrier Joon, with parent group Air France-KLM saying the brand had been “difficult to understand for passengers, staff, markets and investors”.
The airline was launched by former group CEO Jean-Marc Janaillac in December 2017 as "a modern brand for millennials". Janaillac resigned last May and questions about Joon surfaced later amid reports new group CEO Ben Smith was considering closing it to boost group profitability.
Air France-KLM said: “The plurality of brands in the marketplace has created much complexity and, unfortunately, weakened the power of the Air France brand.”
The decision to close the airline was announced alongside the signing of a new labour agreement between Air France and its three cabin crew unions, SNPNC, UNAC and UNSA-PNC.
Smith said: “With this balanced agreement, I hope to see improved trust and fruitful dialogue between Air France and our employees, as I firmly believe that we must have employee buy-in and support in order to truly become a global leader.”
The agreement follows an earlier one signed in October by the majority of Air France’s labour groups (BTN 22 October 2018).
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