AIR FRANCE: 70 YEARS OF AIR FRANCE SERVICES TO SENEGAL

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1 Roissy, Dakar, 12 May 2006 N 5053 AIR FRANCE: 70 YEARS OF AIR FRANCE SERVICES TO SENEGAL This year, Air France is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its Paris-Dakar passenger service; On 31 May 1936 Air France launched its first weekly service between France and Senegal with the three-engined Dewoitine 338 aircraft. These aircraft carried up to 15 passengers at speeds of 275 kph. Dakar has since played a prominent role in the history of the airline said Jean-Claude Cros, Senior Vice President Africa / Middle East CDL. Today, our Senegal route is part of our global development strategy, with Air France operating its most modern fleet between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Dakar-Yoff. We have equipped this station with the most technologically-advanced facilities. We have also set up an expertise unit, in charge of preparing the loading documents for our aircraft throughout the African continent, excluding North Africa. Air France is and always will remain loyal to Africa. The history of the Dakar station coincides with that of aviation. It was from Dakar that Jean Mermoz set off to conquer the South Atlantic, and where Antoine de Saint-Exupéry made his reconnaissance flight for Air France and the Ministry of Air. On 21 January 1976, Dakar was also the first commercial destination for Concorde on its way from Paris to Rio de Janeiro. Today, the Paris-Dakar flight, lasting 5 hours and 45 minutes, is operated with a Boeing with a total of 270 seats. Flights have been specially scheduled to offer passengers a wide choice of connections at Paris-Charles de Gaulle. With annual passenger traffic attaining close to 160,000, Dakar is ranked as one of Air France s leading markets in Africa. Air France Press Office 1/12

2 Air France employs 144 agents in Senegal. Eleven of them make up the team in charge of preparing the loading documents for the 5,000 annual flights out of 23 African airports. These regulatory documents are sent electronically or by satellite to the stations concerned and submitted for signature by the captains prior to the aircraft s departure for Paris. Together with Paris-CDG, Dakar is the only Air France station to be equipped with these transnational facilities comments Jean-Claude Cros. Centralizing the weight and balance sheets allows us to consolidate flight safety and improve the punctuality of flights. Other carriers such as Air Austral or the Air Force are using this service already. Shortly, over 7,000 annual flights will be handled in Dakar. Air France staff in Senegal can be rightly proud of this achievement. The full press kit can be consulted on Air France Press Office 2/12

3 THE CENTRALIZED LOADING DOCUMENTS CENTRE (CLD) IN DAKAR: IN CHARGE OF LOADING 7,300 FLIGHTS PER YEAR IN COMPLETE SAFETY The CLD in Dakar was set up on 1 August Ten fully qualified agents and a station manager are in charge of preparing the loading of flights out of Africa (passengers, baggage and freight). The regulatory documentation (workloads and load sheets) are sent electronically or by satellite to the stations concerned and submitted for signature by the captains prior to the aircraft s departure for Paris. Air France flights departing from 23 commercial stations in Africa are handled by the CLD: Dakar since August 2003, Nouakchott (September 2003), Conakry and Djibouti (January 2004), Port Harcourt (March 2004), Lagos (April 2004), Johannesburg (May 2004), Luanda (June 2004), Yaoundé and Douala (January 2005), Cotonou and Kinshasa (February 2005), Niamey and Ouagadougou (March 2005), N Djamena, Bangui and Libreville (July 2005), Abidjan, Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire and Malabo (August 2005), Lomé (September 2005) and Bamako (October 2005). At the present time, 5,000 Air France flights are handled each year, along with some 370 flights operated by Airbus A310 belonging to the French Air Force and a hundred or so Air Austral flights departing from Johannesburg. The handling of Air France Cargo flights departing from Dakar began in February Over the coming months, the CLD will be preparing the loading of cargo flights from Kuwait (April 2006) followed by Djibouti, Dharan, Nairobi, Jeddah and Abu Dhabi. By the end of 2006, the total number of flights handled per year will amount to approximately 7,300. Air France Press Office 3/12

4 Operating around-the-clock, the CLD moved into new premises at the Dakar-Yoff station on 1 May The centre occupies 63 sq.m and is equipped with: 6 work stations (including four with dual screens), connected to Air France s central IT systems. 1 back-up station with broadband internet access 30 telephone lines 1 mobile telephone and 1 Iridium telephone (satellite link) Electricity is supplied by SENELEC (Senegal s electricity utility) via a specific cable circuit. This supply is backed up by a dedicated electricity generating unit, together with an inverter protecting the IT and communications installations. The CLD represents an investment of some 75,000 euros, i.e. 50 million CFA francs. The CLD agents have been involved in an ISO procedure to validate their activity. No less than 180 hours were needed to analyze the flight handling processes. Once the process had been completed, a protocol was signed between Dakar station and the Africa / Middle East CDL. The CLD, the only one of its kind in Africa, reflects Air France s commitment to comply with the highest standards of quality and professionalism regarding its services in Africa. The centre has developed within a vast structure, set up by Air France, in partnership with local authorities, service providers and airports. This system, known as AIDA and located in several African states (Mali, Senegal, Gabon, Congo, etc.), aims to consolidate flight handling safety in Africa. It is within this framework that Air France founded an IT services company in Libreville (Gabon), which will provide assistance to all stations and ticket offices in Africa and the Middle East, as well as to a dozen client companies. Furthermore, the Air Transport Professions African Institute (IAMA) opened to the public in Bamako (Mali) in November This establishment, which is co-funded by ASECNA (Agency Air France Press Office 4/12

5 for air navigation safety in Africa and Madagascar) and Air France, was set up to train employees of airport handling companies, African airlines, forwarding agents and travel agencies. The training provided by IAMA complies with national and international operational standard procedures imposed by the ICAO and DGAC (French General Directorate of Civil Aviation). Training falls into one of two categories: Regulatory (example: dangerous goods training course Business techniques (example: check-in training course) To facilitate access, off-site training courses are also available in several African countries. The Institute employs eight instructors and will train approximately 1,500 trainees during its first year. Finally, Air France has set up a dedicated team comprising five experts, who are responsible for providing assistance and recommendations about ground equipment to the different airport handling companies: after conducting a detailed audit of existing resources, these experts are able to implement very concrete measures in the area of preventive and corrective maintenance of ramp equipment, sizing of parking stands, maintenance, organization, quality control and training schedules. Air France Press Office 5/12

6 KEY DATES IN AIR FRANCE SERVICES TO SENEGAL : the era of aviation pioneers In 1919, aviation enthusiasts Pierre-Georges Latécoère and Beppo de Massimi decided to fulfil their dream by establishing a regular air service between France and South America. On 23 December of that year, Lieutenant Lefranc flew all the way from Agadir and successfully landed his Donnet-Denhau seaplane in Dakar. Captain Vuillemin and lieutenant Chalus made their first crossing of the Sahara in 1920: their Bréguet 16 followed the Paris Algiers - Tamanrasset - Tombouctou and Dakar route, where they arrived on 31 March, after 42 days of flying! In October 1927, Aéropostale began serving the Latécoère routes. Already air mail was being flown between France and Senegal in a matter of hours, while ten days were needed by sea. On 12 May 1930, the Mermoz-Dabry-Gimié crew took the controls of the Latécoère 28 Comte de La Vaulx and made their maiden flight from Dakar to Natal in Brazil in 21 hours on what was deemed an uneventful flight : the conquest of the South Atlantic On 12 January 1933, Mermoz took off in his Arc en Ciel three-engine airplane from Bourget with six people on board. After two intermediary stops in Istres and Port-Etienne, the aircraft left Saint Louis in Senegal on 16 January and landed the same day in Natal, after a flight time of 14 hours and 27 minutes. On 29 October 1933, only 22 days after Air France was founded, the airline inaugurated its air mail route between Marseille, Dakar and Santiago. On 31 May 1936, Air France s first weekly service between Paris Toulouse Dakar was opened to the public. The route was operated by Dewoitine 338 three-engine planes flying at a speed of 275 kph. Air France Press Office 6/12

7 In January 1937, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry made a reconnaissance flight for Air France and the Ministry of Air. This flight, covering 15,000 km, made stops at the following destinations: Le Bourget, Marseille, Casablanca, Tindouf, Bamako and Dakar. The return flight transported the famous French pilot and writer to Le Bourget via Atar, Fort Gouraud, Tindouf, Oran and Algiers. Until 1939, Air France operated scheduled flights between Dakar and Europe and South America, firstly on a weekly basis and then twice-weekly. The 512th and last flight between Natal and Dakar was made on 2 July 1940 with the Farman F- AQCX Natal Town piloted by Marcel Reine. From 1946 to the present day: key stages of the route s development The French aviation network was reorganized quickly in the aftermath of the Second World War. The Air France Paris- Dakar route via Casablanca was opened to passengers on 23 June 1946 by the DC4 F-BBDI. This route was subsequently extended to Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo, Buenos Aires and Santiago du Chili. With the arrival of the Super Constellation came the first non-stop Paris-Dakar flights on 1 December These ten-hour flights, on which passengers had use of reclining armchairs /sleepers, were known as the Etoile de Dakar. Next came the jet era when in April 1960, the first Paris-Dakar flight was made in a Boeing 707. On 28 December 1971, a Caravelle F-BHRC, named Anjou was specially decorated and fitted out by Air France for the presidents of the Republic of Senegal. Once all necessary upgrades and a major overhaul had been completed in the maintenance workshops at Montaudran the aircraft was accompanied from Toulouse to Dakar. Air France began operating the Boeing 747 on its Paris-Dakar route on 1 June On 21 January 1976, Concorde made its first ever commercial stop-over in Dakar. An official ceremony was held for the supersonic plane in Yoff, in the presence of President Léopold Sédar Senghor. Air France Press Office 7/12

8 Today, the Paris-Dakar route is operated daily with Boeing seating 270, including 12 in l Espace Première class (first ), 56 in l Espace Affaires (business) class and 202 in Tempo (economy) class. Flights depart from terminal 2E of Paris-CDG at 4:30pm and arrive in Dakar at 8:15pm local time. Flight time is 5 hours and 45 minutes. On the inbound journey, flights depart from Dakar at 11:00 pm and arrive in Paris-CDG at 6:20am the next day. Flight time is 5 hours and 20 minutes. (The difference in flying time from the North-South East direction is due to the effect of high-altitude winds). Air France Press Office 8/12

9 AIR FRANCE IN AFRICA STRAGETIC ASSETS IN AN INCREASINGLY COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT Annual passenger turnover for Africa and the Middle East amounts to 1.92 billion euros, a rise of 9.6% (AIR FRANCE KLM group, April 2004 to March 2005). Passenger operations on Africa / Middle East routes represent 13% of total AIR FRANCE KLM passenger revenue 1) Stronger competition In summer 2001, Air France proposed 82 weekly frequencies between France and Africa. Rival airlines, mainly Air Afrique, Air Gabon, Cameroon Airlines, Sabena and Swissair, operated 258 frequencies at the time. As regards its summer 2006 schedule, Air France is proposing, for the same area, 104 weekly frequencies, i.e. a 27% increase in 5 years. Current rival airlines offer 435 weekly routing possibilities from and to France, with both direct flights and connecting flights via their hub, representing a 69% increase. The following observations can be made: There has been an increase in the number of airlines operating in North Africa, particularly Royal Air Maroc, Air Algérie or Afriqiyah, which have developed extremely efficient North-South hubs, New African airlines have entered the market, such as Air Senegal (RAMGroup) European airlines have reappeared (SN Brussels, Swiss), So-called sixth freedom carriers have emerged, particularly attracting traffic from Africa/Asia (Emirates, Ethiopian, etc.) In this highly competitive context, Air France has strategic assets with which to attract customers and keep them satisfied: a powerful network, which can be combined with the KLM network, efficient hubs, services compliant with international standard procedures, and a continuing stable and long-term relationship with Africa. Air France Press Office 9/12

10 2) Air France s strategic assets in Africa An extended network: 104 weekly flights to 23 destinations in 20 countries (summer 2006 flight schedule) 23 DESTINATIONS 104 WEEKLY FLIGHTS 20 COUNTRIES Abidjan 7 Ivory Coast Bamako 7 Mali Bangui 1 Republic of Central Africa Brazzaville 3 Congo Conakry 4 Guinea Cotonou 5 Benin Dakar 7 Senegal Djibouti 1 Djibouti Douala 7 Cameroon Johannesburg 10 South Africa Kinshasa 3 Democratic Republic of Congo Lagos 7 Nigeria Libreville 4 Gabon Lomé 5 Togo Luanda 1 Angola Malabo 4 Equatorial Guinea N Djamena 5 Chad Niamey 2 Niger Nouakchott 6 Mauritania Ouagadougou 5 Burkina Faso Pointe Noire 3 Congo Port Harcourt 4 Nigeria Yaoundé 3 Cameroon Air France Press Office 10/12

11 a complementary network. Together, Air France and KLM are the two leading airlines operating flights between Europe and Africa, with a 24% market share. Traditionally, Air France has always served West Africa and Central Africa. KLM, operating 57 weekly frequencies on the continent, is highly represented in east Africa, particularly thanks to its alliance with Kenya Airways. The Group s combined networks offer undeniable benefits. These African destinations are operated by KLM alone: Abuja (Nigeria), Kano (Nigeria), Accra (Ghana), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Cape Town (South Africa), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Entebbe (Uganda), Khartoum (Sudan), Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), Nairobi (Kenya). Johannesburg and Lagos are operated by both Air France and KLM. A majority of connecting passengers make the most of the efficient hubs at Paris and Amsterdam Close to 60% of Air France customers travelling to and from Africa have connecting flights in Paris to the US, Asia, Europe or the French regions. The Paris-CDG hub is today Europe s most efficient hub, offering passengers a wide choice of connections, placing it well ahead of Heathrow, Frankfurt or Munich. The Amsterdam-Schiphol hub is renowned for the quality of its services. In a word, passengers can organize their travel times and benefit from advantageous fares more easily when combining flights via Paris and Amsterdam than via a European hub. A range of services compliant with international standard procedures The range of services offered by Air France has changed considerably. In a particularly fierce competitive context, Air France offers its international clientele a faultless service: ultra-modern fleet, ground and in-flight services compliant with international standards, Flying Blue frequent flyer program allowing passengers to earn Miles and awards (free tickets, etc.) on flights operated by Air France, KLM and a dozen other airlines as well as other non-airline partners (hotels, car rental, etc.). In an effort to boost the African economy, in January 2004 Air France launched its innovative Dedicate program, proposing scheduled routes and direct flights to make it easier for business passengers to travel to production sites and areas of business activity including in the most Air France Press Office 11/12

12 remote regions. This is how Air France began its service to Pointe Noire in the Republic of Congo and Malabo in Equatorial Guinea. Air France regularly proposes discounted fares to its passengers. On its flights in May and June 2006, Air France is selling tickets starting at 420 euros for a round trip to destinations such as Bamako, Dakar, Libreville or Abidjan. For flights departing from Africa, Air France is proposing Dakar Paris outbound and inbound flights for 280,000 CFA francs (transport until 23 June) or Bamako-Paris for 250,000 CFA francs. Air France: a stable and permanent relationship with Africa. Air France has been operating flights to Africa for 70 years and has constantly proved to be a loyal ally even in troubled times such as the Civil War in Angola, or in the Ivory Coast at the present time. The airline has even periodically increased its operations, at the explicit request of the African States, following the disappearance of Air Africa, Sabena and Swissair in Air France maintains a permanent service whereas certain rival airlines propose seasonal offers only. Air France Press Office 12/12