Last weekend the renowned French newspaper
Le Figaro came up with stouthearted news by announcing the end
of a historic era at Air France – the total ousting of the freighter
fleet at the carrier’s cargo division.
Le Figaro wrote that the announcement
of the end of the aircraft in traditional tricolor AF livery would be
made to the staff in a meeting, Monday May 31 and then made public right
afterwards.
The truth is however, that the paper will
receive a harsh letter from AF/KL airline management demanding an immediate
disclaimer.
“There is absolutely nothing to the
article,” reacted AF Cargo’s spokesperson Jean-Claude Raynaud,
somewhat irritated upon arrival in office, after having escaped a big
Monday-morning Parisian traffic jam.
“You are the very first I am calling
on this issue and I fully assure you that we will stick to our five freighter
aircraft fleet,” stated Jean-Claude.
If there is nothing to it, why did Le
Figaro then come up with the story without any official confirmation?
Most likely, the paper was misinformed by
the French unions that for long have fought the management’s policy
of downsizing the freighter fleet, bit by bit.
If this actually were to happen, jobs would
be at stake, traffic could be partially shifted and income reduced. Indeed,
from the original eleven freighter aircraft, currently only five are left
in AF Cargo’s fleet - three B747-400ERFs plus two B777Fs.
Only last January the airline sold two brand
new B777Fs prior to their delivery to integrator FedEx.
Consequently the total AF tonnage flown
on board the airline’s freighters shrank from 47 percent to 26 percent
 Similarly
AF partner KLM got rid of their remaining four B747-400 extended range
freighters by passing them on to subsidiary Martinair due to the lower
cost structure the daughter company enjoys.
The French union’s distrust was further
(unwittingly) provoked last
September by Michael Wisbrun, (pictured with Florence Parly) Chairman
of the Joint Cargo Management Committee of AF/KLM when he told the media
that 90 percent of all air freight shipments can well be transported in
the belly-holds of passenger aircraft.
Although Florence Parly, Air France Cargo’s
head has always rejected any speculations that her airline might follow
KLM and either shift the remaining five freighters over to Martinair as
KLM did or offer them for sale to the international aviation market the
French unions obviously deeply distrusted Madame Parly’s words.
Now it seems that they gave Le Figaro
their views and suspicions and the story was printed.
It is the second time that the French media
has announced the end of freighters at AF Cargo.
Last fall it was also the unions that pushed
this subject into the news by initiating broad public coverage.
Since then the freighter fleet has become
a growing financial burden accounting for record-making losses posted
by the Paris-based airline. AF/KL Cargo bleeding cash, registered second
quarter loss of $219 million—“very big crisis".
In this case, despite today’s denial
by Air France Cargo officials, it seems the final word has not been written.
Heiner Siegmund
|
Air
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