 |
| Herve Moulin, Air France KLM's general manager for Korea, says the carrier has been the No. 1 European airline here for the last 25 years and will maintain the position with quality services. / Courtesy of Air France KL |
By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Air France KLM has positioned itself as the first European carrier in the Korean market for the last 25 years of its operation here, and sees more potential in the market despite the current worldwide economic slowdown.
Herve Moulin, Air France KLM's general manager for Korea, recognized Korea as a growing and quickly maturing market, having evaluated more than two decades of change.
Moulin was appointed to the Seoul office in August. Despite his short stay here, Korea is not a new market to him, as he was posted as sales director for the Asia Pacific region between 1998 and 2000 and as sales and marketing director for Tokyo from 2000 to 2004.
Change in Korean Market
He said the Korean aviation market has grown and changed a lot in the last decade.
``If you see the evolution of airlines flying to Europe, every year you have a lot of capacity added on the routes between Seoul and Europe, not only by Air France KLM but also by other carriers. The Korean market is very dynamic and competitive,'' Moulin said.
Air France KLM was the first European carrier to operate in Korea. Air France began cargo service in 1973 and passenger service in 1983, marking the 25th year of passenger operations this year. KLM was formed in 1984 and Air France acquired the Dutch carrier in 2004.
``When we came 25 years ago, the market was not at all the same size as now. There has been quite a strong escalation since the Olympic Games in 1988 and the number of travelers has grown,'' Moulin said.
``It has gone from a regulated market to a more liberal one. We make business in Korea like anywhere in the world. The maturity of the market has also come from that of a growing country we needed to explore to that of a matured one,'' the 45-year-old said.The number of French corporations investing in Korea has also increased, and is now almost 180.
``The main evolution is Korean people's way of traveling. In the past it was mostly group travelers, making quick tours. Now the tours are on a more and more individual basis. People also have e-tickets now,'' said the aviation expert with a 19 year career.
No. 1 European Carrier Here
Back in 1983, the airline operated two weekly flights via Tokyo. Now it runs three daily flights _ one between Seoul and Paris by Air France; one on the same route via Korean Air with a code-sharing operation and one between Seoul and Amsterdam via KLM.
In terms of market share, Air France KLM is the first in Korea among European carriers. The number of passengers using Air France and KLM flights between Seoul and Europe is 200,000 per year, 45-50 percent of them Korean.
``We enjoyed a sustainable growth during the past years, two-digit growth. Today, in the economic difficulty, we succeeded to continue a small growth until October. It's very specific because in Korea the outbound travel has been negative since May. But for Europe, the growth continues,'' the general manager said.Moulin said it is because European destinations are still attractive to Koreans, as France is listed as the fourth must-see destination for Koreans. A large capacity and cheap ticket prices amid competition are other reasons, he pointed out.
``We also have good brand awareness, with the name Air `France.' These are the ways that we manage this economic situation at the moment,'' he said.
The strong partnership with Korean Air also helps the carrier's business here, Moulin said. Air France and Korean Air were two of four founding members of the airline alliance Sky Team in 2000, and the alliance allows them to cooperate in service, frequent flyer programs, assistance at airports and access to lounges.
Code-sharing is an agreement through which an airline sells seats on another carrier's flights under its own name. ``We connect two powerful hubs, Incheon and Charles de Gaulle, with all connecting flights by Korean Air on one side and by Air France on the other,'' Moulin said, adding the French airport is the busiest in Europe in terms of connections.
``There are not many markets where we are partners with national carriers. The partnership with Korea's national flag carrier reinforces our position as leader of this market,'' he said.
Potential Despite Economic Recession
Air France KLM manages to lower costs amid high fuel prices and the worldwide economic slowdown. To save fuel, the airline invests in modern fleets that consume less. ``Investing more than 2 billion euro' per year, Air France KLM has the youngest long-haul fleet in the world, 7.2 years on average,'' Moulin said.
The carrier also hedges fuel costs and charges a fuel surcharge.
Besides high fuel prices, however, Moulin said the carrier has been facing something else that's been impacting the airline business since a month ago. ``All airlines enjoyed longtime growth and most of them were quite profitable. Despite the cost increase, the demand was there, and we were able to face the fuel cost issue quite successfully. But we are entering a new time, where the demands are affected.''
He said change is slow in Korea but the airline still saw growth in November compared to last year. The airline is preparing for a difficult time, lowering its growth aim for next year, but will not decrease the capacity to Korea, Moulin said.
``We save everything that doesn't affect the customer service, reducing recruitment and watching carefully all internal expenses, but focus on the customer. The market is shrinking and we have to catch more customers, and for that, it's a matter of service. It is the only priority,'' he said.
For Korean customers, KLM has Korean cabin crew and Air France has interpreters aboard. Moulin said it is important to provide something Korean because it is a frequent request from customers. To meet the request, the airline offers a Web site in Korean, Korean-language assistance at foreign airports and a Korean-style in-flight meal menu. KLM provides dishes of Yongsusan, one of the most renowned traditional Korean-style dishes, while Air France serves kimchi, ``bibimbap'' and noodles.
Today, Air Franc KLM is the leading European carrier in the Korean market and aims to maintain its position. ``How? I take the motto of Air France _ by making Air France KLM the `preferred European airline' of Korean customers. Behind the simple motto, it means a lot and there's much work to do.'' Moulin said.
[출처 : 코리아타임스]
