Air France (AF, Paris CDG) wants a level playing field with Chinese airlines as capacity rebuilds between the two counties following the reopening of China after its protracted Covid-19 lockdown.
“Air France supports the ramp-up of capacity between France and China, but there needs to be a level playing field,” an Air France spokesman informed ch-aviation. “Right now, there is a distortion of competition, which needs to be taken into account.”
As of July, and subject to regulatory approvals, Air France aims to operate twice daily to/from China: Daily to Beijing and daily to Shanghai Pudong. Air France will also fly daily between Paris CDG and Hong Kong International (flights to Hong Kong are subject to a different bilateral agreement), the spokesman confirmed.
The French government, which owns 29% of Air France, seeks a “progressive and balanced” return of connections to China. A government official told Bloomberg that members from several ministries plan to meet soon this week to discuss the topic.
Citing unnamed sources in the know, Bloomberg reported that Air France would welcome the government restricting Chinese airlines’ access to France as they enjoyed an unfair advantage being able to overly Russian airspace closed to many other carriers.
They said Air France was keen on taxes or other measures to create a similar cost base between Air France and Chinese airlines.
While Chinese visitors are a significant economic contributor, particularly in Paris, opening up the door too generously to Chinese airlines risks stumping the recovery of France’s flagship carrier, which used to operate 32 flights weekly to mainland China before the pandemic. The chief executives of hotelier Accor SA, Chinese-owned resort chain Club Med SAS, department store owner Galeries Lafayette Group and Aeroports de Paris, which operates the Paris CDG and Paris Orly airports wrote to Macron in March pleading for wider access to Chinese tourists.
Avoiding flights over Russia typically adds two to three hours of flying time to China, which requires additional crew and extra fuel, costs that are passed on to consumers in higher fares. The longer flying times also impact other connections with Asia.
Still, avoiding Russian airspace saves overflight fees. In February, Air France-KLM Chief Executive Officer Ben Smith said charges to over-fly Russia were so “astronomical” that avoiding them offset the extra cost of lengthier flights.
France and China signed a bilateral agreement in 2017 that allowed hundreds of weekly connections to Chinese airlines. The deal was due to take effect in 2020 but never came into force because of the pandemic.
Before the pandemic, there were about 90 weekly flights between France and China. Paris was Europe’s best-connected city to mainland China thanks to direct flights serving 13 Chinese cities. Some 2.2 million Chinese tourists visited France that year, accounting for 32% of the value of tax-free sales in France.
