Air France-KLM to change group name as Scandinavian airline SAS expected to join

Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith has allegedly made a definitive decision that the airline group will get a new name now that Scandinavian carrier SAS is expected to join, insiders told De Telegraaf.

Recently, high-level managers at KLM and within the group allegedly received reports indicating that the SAS takeover would lead to the disappearance of the Air France-KLM Group name. The new name will contain neither Air France nor KLM, following the model of International Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia.

Air France-KLM wants to acquire a majority stake in SAS, with approval expected in the second half of this year.

The group also intends to add TAP Portugal later. Air France-KLM recently bid for the Portuguese airline, but it faces fierce competition from Germany's Lufthansa.

The spokesman said that it is "completely logical to conduct the discussion about a new name since we are planning to add new brands to the Air France-KLM Group. The current name only reflects our two historical brands." According to them, no name has been chosen yet.

In Paris, some people are allegedly speaking of “the Blue Group” as a working title for the new name, sources told De Telegraaf.

The name-change plan has met with mixed reactions at the senior management level, and some describe it as a heavy step.

Air France and KLM merged in early 2004. At that time, the then-CEO, Jean-Cyril Spinetta, was already considering new names, such as "French European Airlines."

The name change could represent a next step toward a different business model in which the holding company in Paris centrally directs everything and the underlying airlines develop into operating carriers, De Telegraaf said.

In the years before the coronavirus pandemic, KLM fought to preserve its autonomy, particularly in finance and network decisions. Last year the Paris holding’s executive board was expanded to include KLM’s Adriaan den Heijer as chief commercial officer and Oltion Carkaxhija as chief operational officer.

In a further centralization move, KLM subsidiary AirTrade has been transferred and sold to the Paris holding, so KLM has lost control, according to KLM’s annual report. AirTrade is the tour operator and platform that handles package trips for KLM Holidays and Transavia.

AirTrade director Jeroen Martron called the move “a logical step.” Air France KLM wishes to organize things differently. We are happy with it because it means our activities are of strategic value to the group. Whether we will also handle tour operations for Air France is not yet clear. First, new commissioners from Air France KLM will be appointed,” Martron said.