Air France hub in Lyon celebrates 10th Anniversary

Christian Boireau, Air France Executive Vice President French market, Bruno Matheu, Air France Executive Vice President Marketing and Network, and Guy Mathiolon, President of the Aéroport de Lyon Supervisory Board, were present at the tenth anniversary celebration of the Air France hub in Lyon, which began operating on 27 October 1997.

The event illustrates the economic growth of the Rhone-Alps region and its opening up to international activity. It falls at the same time as Air France and Delta's announcement a few days ago of the July 2008 launch of a non-stop Lyon-New York flight. In addition, three new European services have just opened: Lyon-Birmingham, Lyon-Florence and Lyon-Hamburg.

In a context of increased competition in Lyon, Air France is also adapting its schedule by following an offensive strategy on potentially profitable routes. As a result, capacity will gradually double this winter on the Lyon-Barcelona, Lyon-Madrid, Lyon-Rome and Lyon-Venice routes. In addition, capacity will be increased by approximately 30% on the Lyon-Bordeaux and Lyon-Toulouse routes.

Along with these developments, Air France is launching very attractive fares: for example, Lyon-Barcelona and Lyon-Madrid starting from €79 roundtrip, tax included*, with a promotional fare now being offered at €69 roundtrip, tax included* (*excluding service charges).

To finance these investments, the Company has had to discontinue its loss-making routes: starting in early 2008, the Lyon-Casablanca route will close; one flight per day will be maintained on the Lyon-Orly route to coordinate with connecting flights to and from the French Caribbean, which represents significant traffic departing from the Rhone-Alps region.

In this way Air France is demonstrating its commitment to strongly supporting the Lyon hub, in the framework of a clear, economically sound strategy.

The Air France hub in Lyon is based on an original formula offering three daily connecting banks: morning, midday and evening. 274 daily flights link up 45 cities in France, Europe and North Africa. All totalled, passengers can choose every week from among 6,300 connecting opportunities.

Throughout the IATA year 2006/2007, Air France welcomed 3.5 million passengers to Lyon; 834,000 of these were transit passengers. This figure has increased fourfold in ten years.

Lyon, Air France’s leading European regional hub, is therefore a unique example in Europe of a hub specialized in connections between short and medium-haul flights, with very short transit times and an exceptional 99% success rate.

The Air France, Brit Air and Régional teams, as well as those of the Aéroport de Lyon, are the key players in this daily ballet of airplanes and connections.

Major logistical improvements, particularly the Terminal 2 pier opened in 2005, and the development of self-service facilities (self-service kiosks, e-tickets, etc.) have contributed to the success of the hub.

Today, the Lyon hub offers many assets: the quality and reliability of its schedule, the adaptability and responsiveness of Air France and its Brit Air and Régional subsidiaries in terms of operations and fares, and the appeal of the metropolitan area of Lyon, among Europe’s Top 20 most attractive cities.