法航來東方淘金 在中國市場佈局

Air France is looking to China's booming market for international travel for new sources of revenue, the company's chief executive officer said Wednesday, as the carrier struggles to stem losses and slash costs globally.

法國航空(Air France)董事長兼首席執行長加熱(Frederic Gagey)週三表示，法國航空將目光投向了中國日益繁榮的國際旅遊市場，將其視爲新的收入來源之一。這家公司目前正忙於擺脫虧損並在全球削減成本。

Air France Chairman and Chief Executive Frédéric Gagey said one measure will be to put bigger airplanes on key routes out of China. The company is targeting early 2015 for daily deployment of Airbus 380 aircraft on Shanghai to Paris flights, up from four a week currently. Air France introduced the superjumbos, which can carry More than 500 passengers, on the route last fall. A380 flights from Hong Kong will start May 27.

加熱說，該公司將採取的措施之一是在從中國起飛的關鍵航線上採用更大的飛機。該公司計劃2015年初在上海飛巴黎的航線上每日都安排空客(Airbus) 380航班，而現階段爲一週四趟航班。法國航空去年秋季開始在該航線上安排這種超大型飛機，這種飛機可承載逾500名乘客。5月27日開始將在從香港起飛的航線上安排空客380航班。

Air France said, Beijing also 'could be a good candidate' for deployment, but gave no time frame, citing infrastructure considerations at the capital's airport.

法國航空表示，北京也是一個很好的備選航點，但考慮到首都機場的基礎設施狀況，目前還沒有時間表。

China is Air France's second most important long-haul market after the U.S., accounting for around 10% of revenues from such flights.

中國是法國航空一個重要的長途航空市場，重要性僅次於美國，在法國航空這類業務收入中，來自中國市場的收入佔了約10%的比例。

Brokerage CLSA estimates 200 million Chinese will venture abroad annually by 2020, double the 100 million in 2013. European capitals, including Paris and Amsterdam, are among the most popular destinations.

里昂證券（亞洲）(CLSA)預計，到2020年每年出境的中國人將達2億人次，較2013年的1億人次增加一倍。像巴黎和阿姆斯特丹等歐洲國家的首都都是最受歡迎的地方。

Another possibility is to increase the frequency of flights from China's secondary cities, many of which are located in the country's interior.

增加收入的另一個可能的辦法就是增加中國二線城市的航班數，二線城市大多在中國內地。

'There is a huge demand from all these provinces outside of big cities for a presence by European airlines,' said Mr. Gagey.

加熱說，大城市之外的這些省份存在着巨大的需求，有待歐洲的航空公司開發。

In 2012, Air France began flying to Wuhan, a sprawling metropolis of more than eight million people and a hub of Sino-French investment. The capital of Hubei province is home to Dongfeng Motor Corp., which recently took a major stake in French struggling car maker Peugeot Citroën.

2012年，法國航空開設武漢航點，這是一個擁有超過800萬人口的大都市，也是中法合作投資中心。作爲湖北省的省會，這個城市還是東風汽車公司(Dongfeng Motor co.)所在地，這家汽車公司近期購買了法國標緻雪鐵龍(Peugeot Citroen)的股份。

As a group, Air France-KLM SA, also flies to other emerging inland cities, such as Chengdu, and smaller coastal destinations, such as Hangzhou and Xiamen.

作爲一個集團，法國航空的母公司還在成都這樣的內地其他新興城市以及杭州和廈門這樣的沿海城市開設航點。

'Compared with big competitors out of Europe, development of their coverage of the Chinese market is far more limited,' he said.

加熱表示，與歐洲以外的大公司相比，法國航空對中國市場的開發遠遠不到位。

The group operates 88 flights a week to Greater China--including Taipei and Hong Kong.

法國航空的母公司每週飛往大中華區（包括臺北和香港）的航班有88趟。

Air France-KLM doesn't serve all destinations daily and a goal was to increase frequency on these routes for optimized operations, he said.

加熱表示，法國航空的母公司並不是每天對所有的地點都開展服務，其目標之一是提高航線的效率實現優化運營。

Success in China could help the airline become profitable. In the first quarter, parent Air France-KLM SA, had operating losses narrow to EUR445 million ($619 million) from EUR 532 million a year earlier. Revenue was EUR5.55 billion.

在中國市場如果取得成功將有助於公司實現盈利。今年第一季度，法國航空的母公司運營虧損降至4.45億歐元（合6.19億美元），而上年同期爲5.32億歐元。收入則爲55.5億歐元。

Last September the company said it was speeding up job cuts and moving more of its European routes to its low-cost Transavia.

該公司去年9月份表示將加速裁員並將更多的歐洲航線轉移到旗下低成本的航空公司Transavia。

The carrier is also exploring other new destinations in China but has no concrete plans at this stage.

該公司還在中國開發其他新的航點，但現階段還沒有具體計劃。

Air France-KLM's general manager for greater China, Bas Gerressen, said a recent crackdown by the Chinese government that discourages ostentatious consumption by officials has influenced its business. Such officials were making fewer trips and more had downgraded to cheaper travel classes, he said.

法國航空母公司的大中華區總經理顧瑞新(Bas Gerressen)表示，近期中國政府反腐倡廉風暴對公司的業務有影響。官員們減少了旅行活動，並且更多人選擇了較爲廉價的艙位。

Still, overall the company could compensate by tapping other kinds of travelers such as entrepreneurs and China's growing number of individual travelers. The group's flights between China and Europe typically flew with more than 90% of seats occupied, Mr. Gerressen said.

不過總體而言，中國不斷增加的個人旅客以及企業家等羣體可以彌補業務上的影響。顧瑞新表示，該集團中歐航線的上座率一般都會超過90%。