Air France plans a complete overhaul after the strike.

(Baonghean.vn) - To help customers forget about the historic strike by its pilots, Air France has launched an action plan called ASAP ("after strike action plan"). The airline's marketing director in France, Pierre Descazeaux, reiterated the losses incurred by the airline during the two weeks of the strike: 80,000 passengers per day, totaling over 1 million passengers, received compensation or were transferred to other Air France flights or flights with other airlines.

Air France's bookings are expected to decrease by 2-3% over the next three months.

To "restart operations," Air France will deploy its auxiliary processing units, particularly in responding to thousands of complaints, including "up to 3,000 refund requests per day." But above all, with the ASAP plan, Air France aims to "appease" customers whom "we know have not been treated well," said Mr. Descazeaux. After the strike ended, the airline adopted a much softer attitude towards its customers. At ticket counters, transfer areas, and baggage drop-off points, staff were instructed to be more flexible with free baggage allowances, allow passengers more access to airport lounge services, and provide even better care for premium passengers.

This is because, after two weeks of strikes resulting in €500 million in losses, the French airline is concerned about "a sharp drop in bookings over the next three months." "A drop of around 2% to 3% in bookings. That's the difference between profit and loss," Descazeaux emphasized, while also setting a target of "returning to normal operations after three months." To achieve this, Air France must first open its coffers. In the first week of October, €3 million was invested in an advertising campaign to promote low-cost medium-haul flights – €49 – and a 25% discount on long-haul flights.

Air France also leveraged its relationships to rekindle ties with its major clients. Air France-KLM's Chief Commercial Officer, Patrick Alexandre, initiated a visit to offer the airline's apologies to "the regions most severely affected by the strike." After meeting with JTB – the network of travel agencies and Air France's main distributor in Japan – Alexandre will travel to Brazil and then Mexico. In fact, Air France's return to normal operations largely relies on the implementation of a "winter program" with a list of destinations included in the airline's service schedule from the end of October 2014 to the end of March 2015.

Air France's strategy will focus on "developing both low-cost and premium services." This winter, its low-cost airline, Transavia France, will expand its service capacity by 56%, with 10 new routes. Between now and the end of 2014, five of Air France's Boeing 777s will be fitted with new cabins. By all means, Air France is striving to maintain its leading position in the list of international flight networks originating from Europe.

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(According to Le Monde)