Korea — a lucrative market for Air France

By Lee Hyo-sik

Staff reporter

The Korean air travel market has been recovering fast from the worldwide economic downturn and will soon return to a pre-crisis level in line with improving global economic conditions and the strengthening of the Korean won, a foreign airline industry expert here said.

In an interview with The Korea Times, Herv? Moulin, Air France general manager for Korea, said the French flagship airline will improve its in-flight services and offer a range of differentiated and customer-friendly airfares to attract more outbound Korean travelers heading for Paris and other European destinations.

``Korea's airline sector is a lucrative market for us. It will likely expand at a fast pace for the foreseeable future on a rise in both outbound and inbound air travelers between Korea and Europe. To take advantage of greater future air travel demand here, we are making all necessary preparations,'' Moulin said.

Following the global financial market meltdown in the second half of 2008, Korea's travel demands plunged. But since the beginning of this year, the local airline industry has been rebounding fast with more Koreans heading overseas on the back of rising income and the appreciation of the local currency. A stronger won makes it cheaper for Koreans to buy goods and services in foreign countries.

``We have a strong presence in Asia and continue to bolster our business in the region because our future is here, particularly, in Korea and China. We think that Korea will fully bounce back to a pre-crisis level in less than two years. But most Asian markets will take more than two years to do so,'' he said.

The French airline analyst then said despite the maturing of the Korean economy and the rapidly aging population, Korea's air travel demands, particularly for Europe, will increase at an explosive pace as individuals here become richer and want to travel to Europe and other premium tourism destinations.

``Besides traveling, many young Korean ladies go to Paris and other European cities to purchase an array of luxury goods and experience European hospitality. Additionally, we expect more Europeans to come here in line with growing bilateral political, economic and social ties. The Korea-EU free trade agreement will certainly boost the number of business travelers coming from Europe.''

Air France was the first foreign airline that established operations in Korea in 1983. Unlike its multinational rivals, the French carrier did not leave the country even after the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

``We are here permanently. We are part of the Sky Team along with Korean Air and a number of other prominent airline companies around the world. We maintain code sharing with Korean Air and jointly operate a mileage program,'' Moulin said. The company offers a daily direct flight service on the Incheon-Paris route.

Air France operates an extensive aviation network in Europe and offers passenger-friendly schedules, he said, stressing Korean travelers for business or pleasure should fly with the French air carrier.

``Paris is a European aviation hub and we definitely benefit from it as a national carrier. Additionally, we have a strong presence in Britain, Switzerland, Italy and other famous tourism spots among Korean tourists. Europe is our turf,'' Moulin said.

To set itself apart from other foreign airlines, Air France maintains a strong partnership with Korean Air, he said, adding it provides high-quality in-flight meals and beverages. ``On top of serving French wine and food, we offer good Korean food to travelers. We also have interpreters onboard.''

Earlier this month, the company introduced more comfortable and spacious seats in economy class, called ``Premium Economy,'' on its Seoul-Paris route, representing its innovative and customer-friendly corporate management.

``Many airlines have tried to improve business class seats, while paying no attention to economy class. Our Premium Economy is a seat between business and economy classes. It is about 40 percent more spacious than the conventional economy class seats. We are receiving positive responses from our customers who are willing to pay a little bit more for better seats. One of the main customer segments is senior citizens,'' Moulin said. Air France has 28 Premium Economy seats per flight.