From the company that brought you the close down of Joon, Air France is making changes to its regional operation – HOP! with a re-brand. Welcome Air France HOP
The new Air France HOP scheme – Image, Air France.
Notice that the airline has actually added its name at the front of the current name, added the Air France tail at the back, and deleted the Très jolie exclamation mark.
The previous HOP! Livery – Image, Air France
According to the airline, its to show a more definitive link between Air France and its regional offering.
Or as the airline puts it
“This development makes it possible to link the regional flight offer more clearly to the Air France brand, and strengthens it by making it the sole point of reference for customers wishing to travel on the French flag carrier.”
There will be no changes to conditions or contracts of HOP! staff, and all flights will operate as normal.
HOP! was formed in 2013 to unify y Brit Air, Regional and Airlinair under one banner.
Air France-KLM Group have been simplifying its offering and trying to slim down the number of brands, or at least brand them appropriately. This move will slim it down to:
- Air France
- Air France HOP
- KLM
- KLM CityHopper
- Transavia
Joon of course was forced to close its rooftop bar as it is merged back into Air France mainline. At least now, it’s possible to link a regional and a mainline carrier together
In quotes
Benjamin Smith, Air France-KLM Group CEO. said
“This is the next step towards consolidating the strength of our brands and increasing the clarity and overall consistency of the Air France-KLM Group’s offer,
“The domestic network, including the regional market currently operated by HOP! is fundamental to the Air France business model, securing its regional foothold and is an integral part of its history and DNA. In the face of competition in this market, we must make our offer clearer and link it more closely to the values and strengths of the Air France brand.
I would like to praise the commitment and professionalism of all staff at HOP!. I am confident that together we will succeed in making Air France HOP the reference brand for our customers when they travel on our regional network.”
Less confusion
It’s welcome to see that the airlines are getting to levels where you can map a regional service with a mainline service without digging through different paintwork or working out who is affiliated to whom (because we’ve all boarded a plane that at least once isn’t branded to the airline we are meant to fly with).
And branding is important – its part of what sells the airline experience.
Hopefully a more integrated brand will be a bit less confusing for passengers on the ground, and a continuation of the passenger experience in the air.
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