Air France eyes China’s booming travel market for revenue increase

Air France is looking to China's booming market for international travel for new sources of revenue, the company's chief executive officer said Wednesday, as the carrier struggles to stem losses and slash costs globally.

法国航空董事长兼首席执行长加热周三表示，法国航空将目光投向了中国日益繁荣的国际旅游市场，将其视为新的收入来源之一。这家公司目前正忙于摆脱亏损并在全球削减成本。

Air France Chairman and Chief Executive Frédéric Gagey said one measure will be to put bigger airplanes on key routes out of China. The company is targeting early 2015 for daily deployment of Airbus 380 aircraft on Shanghai to Paris flights, up from four a week currently. Air France introduced the superjumbos, which can carry more than 500 passengers, on the route last fall. A380 flights from Hong Kong will start May 27.

加热说，该公司将采取的措施之一是在从中国起飞的关键航线上采用更大的飞机。该公司计划2015年初在上海飞巴黎的航线上每日都安排空客380航班，而现阶段为一周四趟航班。法国航空去年秋季开始在该航线上安排这种超大型飞机，这种飞机可承载逾500名乘客。5月27日开始将在从香港起飞的航线上安排空客380航班。

Air France said, Beijing also 'could be a good candidate' for deployment, but gave no time frame, citing infrastructure considerations at the capital's airport.

法国航空表示，北京也是一个很好的备选航点，但考虑到首都机场的基础设施状况，目前还没有时间表。

China is Air France's second most important long-haul market after the U.S., accounting for around 10% of revenues from such flights.

中国是法国航空一个重要的长途航空市场，重要性仅次于美国，在法国航空这类业务收入中，来自中国市场的收入占了约10%的比例。

Brokerage CLSA estimates 200 million Chinese will venture abroad annually by 2020, double the 100 million in 2013. European capitals, including Paris and Amsterdam, are among the most popular destinations.

里昂证券（亚洲）预计，到2020年每年出境的中国人将达2亿人次，较2013年的1亿人次增加一倍。像巴黎和阿姆斯特丹等欧洲国家的首都都是最受欢迎的地方。

Another possibility is to increase the frequency of flights from China's secondary cities, many of which are located in the country's interior.

增加收入的另一个可能的办法就是增加中国二线城市的航班数，二线城市大多在中国内地。

'There is a huge demand from all these provinces outside of big cities for a presence by European airlines,' said Mr. Gagey.

加热说，大城市之外的这些省份存在着巨大的需求，有待欧洲的航空公司开发。

In 2012, Air France began flying to Wuhan, a sprawling metropolis of more than eight million people and a hub of Sino-French investment. The capital of Hubei province is home to Dongfeng Motor Corp., which recently took a major stake in French struggling car maker Peugeot Citroën.

2012年，法国航空开设武汉航点，这是一个拥有超过800万人口的大都市，也是中法合作投资中心。作为湖北省的省会，这个城市还是东风汽车公司所在地，这家汽车公司近期购买了法国标致雪铁龙的股份。

As a group, Air France-KLM SA, also flies to other emerging inland cities, such as Chengdu, and smaller coastal destinations, such as Hangzhou and Xiamen.

作为一个集团，法国航空的母公司还在成都这样的内地其他新兴城市以及杭州和厦门这样的沿海城市开设航点。

'Compared with big competitors out of Europe, development of their coverage of the Chinese market is far more limited,' he said.

加热表示，与欧洲以外的大公司相比，法国航空对中国市场的开发远远不到位。

The group operates 88 flights a week to Greater China–including Taipei and Hong Kong.

法国航空的母公司每周飞往大中华区（包括台北和香港）的航班有88趟。

Air France-KLM doesn't serve all destinations daily and a goal was to increase frequency on these routes for optimized operations, he said.

加热表示，法国航空的母公司并不是每天对所有的地点都开展服务，其目标之一是提高航线的效率实现优化运营。

Success in China could help the airline become profitable. In the first quarter, parent Air France-KLM SA, had operating losses narrow to EUR445 million ($619 million) from EUR 532 million a year earlier. Revenue was EUR5.55 billion.

在中国市场如果取得成功将有助于公司实现盈利。今年第一季度，法国航空的母公司运营亏损降至4.45亿欧元（合6.19亿美元），而上年同期为5.32亿欧元。收入则为55.5亿欧元。

Last September the company said it was speeding up job cuts and moving more of its European routes to its low-cost Transavia.

该公司去年9月份表示将加速裁员并将更多的欧洲航线转移到旗下低成本的航空公司Transavia。

The carrier is also exploring other new destinations in China but has no concrete plans at this stage.

该公司还在中国开发其他新的航点，但现阶段还没有具体计划。

Air France-KLM's general manager for greater China, Bas Gerressen, said a recent crackdown by the Chinese government that discourages ostentatious consumption by officials has influenced its business. Such officials were making fewer trips and more had downgraded to cheaper travel classes, he said.

法国航空母公司的大中华区总经理顾瑞新表示，近期中国政府反腐倡廉风暴对公司的业务有影响。官员们减少了旅行活动，并且更多人选择了较为廉价的舱位。

Still, overall the company could compensate by tapping other kinds of travelers such as entrepreneurs and China's growing number of individual travelers. The group's flights between China and Europe typically flew with more than 90% of seats occupied, Mr. Gerressen said.

不过总体而言，中国不断增加的个人旅客以及企业家等群体可以弥补业务上的影响。顾瑞新表示，该集团中欧航线的上座率一般都会超过90%。