Air France is pressing the French government to limit Chinese airlines’ access to the country, saying they enjoy an
unfair advantage because they can fly over Russian airspace closed to many other carriers.
The French arm of Air France-KLM wants President Emmanual Macron to introduce taxes or other measures that would create a similar cost base between Air France and Chinese airlines, according to people familiar with the situation.
Opening up the door generously to Chinese airlines would give a boost to the country’s hotels and restaurants as China’s massive outbound tourism market recovers from strict Covid-19 travel curbs. But it also risks stumping the recovery of France’s flagship carrier, which used to operate 32 flights weekly to mainland China before the pandemic, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing private deliberations with the state.
“We support the ramp up of capacity between France and China but there needs to be a level playing field,” an Air France spokesman said.
“Right now there is a distortion of competition which needs to be taken into account.”
The government is seeking a “progressive and balanced” return of connections to China, and members from several ministries plan to meet as soon as this week to discuss the topic, a government official said.
Air France is seeking to increase the number of flights to 14 a week in July pending Chinese government approval, up from the 6 weekly flights to China as of this month. Avoiding flights over Russia typically adds 2 to 3 hours to a flight back from China and requires additional crew, meaning extra fuel and staff costs per flight, according to Air France.
