Air France increasingly present in Italy: 'Ours is the top aviation brand for Italian passengers'

Tuesday, April 9, after a nine-year absence, Air France has returned to operations between its Paris Charles De Gaulle hub and Verona's Valerio Catullo airport. It is about the Transalpine carrier's 14th destination in our country. The service will be operated three times a week (twice a week in July and August) with a Embraer 190 from HOP, the regional airline of Air France.

The Flight Club was present at the flight's inaugural ceremony in Verona, where it met with Noud Duyzings, senior vice president Europe of the Air France-KLM Group.

With Verona, you serve a whopping 14 destinations in Italy? Is there already a 15th in sight?
"Italy is our second largest market in the world in terms of passenger numbers and revenue, after France. Today we are back in a city as important to the economy of the northeast as Verona. However, At the moment, there is no 15th destination in our pipeline in Italy. He will definitely come. But he is not on the agenda at the moment."

Verona is the city of love. Can we say that Air France loves Italian passengers?
"We can certainly say that. But we can also say that Italians love Air France. We see it in the bookings. And we are also seeing it in the success, in terms of sales, even here in Verona, since the flight went on sale. Italians certainly like to fly with us. In 2023 we conducted a survey on what Italians consider the top brand in air travel, and Air France came out on top. And confirmation of this also comes from the numbers, since on Italy we have achieved one of the highest turnovers ever."

What are your predictions for the upcoming summer season?
"The reservations are going strong. More or less we are on the level of summer 2023, which had been excellent."

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How do you see the ITA-Lufthansa affair?
"All I can say is. there still doesn't seem to be clarity. And that we are obviously following it very closely."

Tell us three keywords for the future of air transport.
"Decarbonization (Air France and KLM used the 17% of sustainable fuel produced in 2023, ed.). Customer experience. And Efficiency".

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Speaking of new alliances, when do you expect SAS to join Skyteam?
"That of Leave Star Alliance and apply to join Skyteam is a decision for them alone to make And in which we have no say. But I believe the transition will take place by the end of this year".

• interview of the week

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