Transavia preps for big expansion

Sources inside budget airline Transavia say the Air France/KLM owned carrier is being transformed into a price fighter that can better compete with easyJet and Ryanair, De Telegraaf reports. Transavia plans to expand their fleet to 200 airplanes, without having to push money into the endeavor. The company is therefore looking to join with other companies, in which parent company Air France will play a big roll. French newspaper Les Echos reported on Wednesday that Air France-KLM will use their cheaper subsidiaries Transavia and Hop for short to medium length routes as part of a new strategy that will be revealed in September. At the presentation of their interim figures Air France announced that their budget subsidiaries will play a far greater roll in the French-Netherlands airline group in the coming years. According to Les Echos Air France wants to hand virtually all flights transferring passengers to international hub Charles de Gaulle in Paris over to their cheaper subsidiaries. Transavia will focus on tourists while Hop will mainly serve the domestic French market. For years Air France has been suffering a loss on routes inside Europe. The company was not overly worried about this as those flights ensured a supply of passengers flying to distant destinations from Paris or Schiphol. Last year however, Air France determined to make the European network cost efficient.