Pieter Elbers
SYDNEY -- The instability at Air France, stirred by 15 days
of labor strikes since February, is sending reverberations to sister airline
KLM, the Dutch carrier's CEO said during an interview at the IATA Annual
General Meeting.
"Our first concern, obviously, is with our customers,"
Pieter Elbers said. "The long range of strikes, 15 days, has had its
consequence on customer appreciation. All our teams, especially our commercial
teams, are working very hard to regain the trust of our customers. Clearly, a
lot of customers have been affected."
Elbers declined to comment on the revelation that Paris-based
AccorHotels is in discussions with Air France-KLM about a potential investment
into the company.
Air France-KLM Group CEO Jean-Marc Jenaillac stepped down
last month after employees rejected a proposal that would have raised wages by
7% over four years. In the short run, Elbers, Air France CEO Franck Terner and
Air France-KLM Group CFO Frederic Gagey are jointly running Air France-KLM.
Elbers said the interim structure "should enable us to
create some stability and keep the company running."
Over the course of an interview that touched on a variety of
topics, Elbers also said that KLM is reviewing its U.S. offerings for potential
expansion. The joint-venture partnership of Delta and KLM flies to 10 U.S.
destinations from Amsterdam, amounting to what Elbers said is approximately a
quarter of KLM's long-haul seats.
"We have done some successful openings," he said. "Miami,
Orlando, Salt Lake."