Air France to Launch New Airline Targeted at Millennials Called Joon
Air France is the latest travel brand attempting to target millennials. The carrier announced today that it's going to launch a new, lower cost airline, called Joon, which will represent its attempt to lure new and younger travelers.
At launch, which is expected in the fall, Joon will offer travelers short-haul routes from its base at Paris' Charles de Gaulle (CDG). In 2018, Air France is planning for Joon to start long-haul routes. The carrier plans to release exact routes, services and fares in September. But, for now, Air France is trying to bring down costs for itself while also competing with low-cost carriers on short-haul routes and the Gulf carriers on the (future) long-haul routes.
With today's announcement, Joon has also released its livery and some indications of what aircraft it might fly on its routes:
According to a press release, Joon is aimed at young, working travelers, "whose lifestyles revolve around digital technology." What exactly does that mean? It's pretty unclear, and the vague wording continues — "This new brand has been entirely designed to meet their requirements and aspirations, with an authentic and connected offering that stands out in the world of air transport." (...What?)
Here's a video that was released with today's announcement:
Air France has made it clear that Joon won't be a low-cost carrier in the traditional sense, as it's offering "original products and services that reflect those of Air France." Jean-Michel Mathieu, who's been with Air France-KLM for most of his career, will take the helm as the CEO of Joon.
It's going to be very interesting to see if Air France will be successful in its mission to target millennials. At this point, the plans look pretty bare bones — we just have depictions of what the crew uniforms will look like, no firm routes and nothing that says what will makes Joon unique. Hopefully Air France can work on crafting Joon into something special that will attract travelers — even if they're not specifically millennials.
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