2023-11-26 11:00:00
Lhe main Air France unions have called a strike on Tuesday, November 28 to protest once morest the company’s desire to gradually leave Paris-Orly airport. This movement only concerns ground staff working at Orly. 600 employees might be expected to leave for Roissy-CDG.
This transfer of domestic routes concerns Air France but not the Air France group, which maintains its positions and its traffic shares. Air France is committed to avoiding forced departures. In total, 430 ground employee positions and 170 in maintenance are threatened. To oppose this project, the unions chose the date of November 28, which corresponds to the 71e anniversary of the Air France transfer to Orly from Le Bourget airport.
Why is Air France transferring its activity from Orly to Roissy-CDG?
The national company wishes to strengthen its Roissy-CDG hub by concentrating all its domestic flights there. This is already the case from Lyon, Bordeaux, Nantes, Rennes, etc. Not forgetting the TGV connections provided by train + air to the North Paris airport from 41 cities.
In addition, domestic connections, which are loss-making at Orly, become profitable if they are associated with a long-haul flight. Indeed, the reduction in business travel and the shift to the train lead to a structural drop in demand compared to 2019 of 40% and even 60% for daytime return trips.
Who will take Air France’s place?
The slots released by Air France are a rare commodity. These time slots, limited to Orly, are high-value assets. If they are not used, they will be redistributed between the other operators (and competitors) of the platform. The Air France group will therefore transfer them to its low-cost subsidiary Transavia, which ensures the network, and prevent EasyJet, Vueling, Wizz, etc. do not recover them.
Will the number of flights be reduced and will this affect passengers?
Let’s think in terms of traffic. Orly will lose passengers from French regions to international destinations. Today, in a Toulouse-Orly, there are passengers heading to the capital and others connecting to the Antilles or Reunion Island for example. In 2026, this might lead to the transfer of two daily shuttles from Orly to Roissy-CDG. Furthermore, the planes contracted by Transavia – A320neo – will offer more seats than Air France’s current A320s, which might lead to a small drop in frequencies.
What are the consequences for Air France staff?
Aircrews – pilots and cabin crew – are not affected. The status of Air France pilots requires that they fly on planes of the parent company or on those of Transavia, depending on needs. Note that Transavia rotations, which are denser, are generally better paid than those of Air France. For cabin crew, the start of service, today at Orly, will take place in two years at Roissy-CDG.
Staff working on the ground will have to move from Orly to Roissy-CDG, which involves at least two hours round trip by public transport. But no one will be forced to do so, assures Air France. Working at Orly for Transavia is excluded, the low cost calling on subcontractors at costs unrelated to those of Air France’s statutory staff.
Will prices change?
If the group succeeds in making its domestic routes profitable, the trend in prices will be downward, excluding the cost of living and fuel.
The law of supply and demand will always be king, especially if the SNCF succeeds in offering real competition in TGV.
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