Airlines
Air France-KLM To Launch New Long-Haul Airline
Plan designed to fend off competition from Gulf state powers

Air France-KLM on Thursday unveiled a new strategy to “regain the offensive” in long-haul markets centered on a new airline structured to compete with the three major Gulf State airlines. Dubbed Trust Together, the plan calls for the new airline to concentrate on “ultra-competitive” markets in which it would open new routes, reopen previously closed routes and maintain routes now under threat. The company does not plan to position the unit as a low-cost carrier, however, but rather as a “simple, modern and innovative offer” with standards comparable to those of Air France.