Air France plans to expand business in China

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 ◆ Air France plans to expand business in China

Air France is moving to expand its business in China from 2003, after negotiating with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on air rights, said Patrick Alexandre, its executive vice-president in charge of international business.

Air France planned to add two flights weekly between eastern China's Shanghai and Paris, he noted, assuring one flight a day from March 28, 2003, Alexandre said last week on a visit to Shanghai.

The company also intended to inaugurate a scheduled flight between southern China's Guangzhou and Paris next year.

The airline's international business accounts for over half its total flights, with the Chinese market the most important one.

From the end of 1999 to 2001, passenger flights between China and Europe grew by 40 percent. Half of the passengers on Sino-French flights are Chinese.

Alexandre said he believed that new flights in the future would not exceed the demand, as flights from both Air France and Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines were always fully booked at present.

"We want to continue code-sharing with China Eastern Airlines and extend our business to China's interior areas," Alexandre said.

In the future Air France could sell tickets in Paris for flights to other Chinese cities besides Beijing, Shanghai and HongKong.

China Eastern Airlines currently sells tickets in Shanghai for flights to other cities besides Paris in France, Europe and Africa.