31 October 2003 01:52
Air France in pursuit of Aeroflot alliance
Jean Cyril Spinetta, chairman of Air France, yesterday said he was keen to
enlist Aeroflot, the Russian carrier, as a member of Sky Team, the airline
alliance led by the French flag carrier in partnership with KLM, Alitalia,
Delta Airlines and other carriers.
The move would help Air France and its partners reinforce their presence in
the Russian and East European markets which Mr Spinetta said were expanding
with European Union enlargement.
By seeking to lure Aeroflot into the Sky Team alliance, Air France is also
attempting to reinforce its operations in a market that has been dominated by
its German rival Lufthansa. The German carrier is also understood to be
seeking to attract Aeroflot in its rival Star Alliance partnership.
Although Air France has a code-sharing agreement with Aeroflot on the
Paris-Moscow route, it has been seeking to build its presence in the Russian
and East European markets. They are considered to be Sky Team's weakest
link in its international network.
Lufthansa and its Star Alliance partners enjoyed a quasi-monopoly on these
markets, the Air France chairman told the annual Cannes Airlines Forum
yesterday.
He said he was keen to see Aeroflot join the Sky Team alliance to help
stimulate competition on Russian and East European routes. The Russian
airline had made a strong economic recovery and was in good shape, he added.
Aeroflot last week indicated it was leaning in favour of joining Sky Team and
that a final decision was expected before the end of this year.
Aeroflot, which is 51.2 per cent state controlled, has managed to resist the
general industry downturn better than most airlines. It reported an Dollars
89.3m profit for 2002 and has seen its passenger volumes continue to rise.
They grew 5.4 per cent during the first nine months of this year to 4.46m
passengers.
[FTI [The Financial Times]] |
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