Leading

Air France Holidays, launched in March 2025, had until now been entirely managed by PerfectStay.

Despite significant volumes, the management of the national carrier was not satisfied with the initial results.

After a few months of existence, it decided to fully internalize this activity.

Thus, Air France and Transavia – because this takeover indeed concerns both airlines – will become both tour operator and distribution network once again within a matter of weeks or months.

Their project company received its registration last week. The technological building block will be provided by a subsidiary of KLM, the Dutch sister company.

The loop is closed.

Now the question remains: what are the ambitions of Air France and Transavia Holidays in this regard.

According to sources close to the executive team of the national carrier, they are high, in line with the financial success and volume of easyJet Holidays.

Hence this legitimate question: could the travel agency/tour-operator activity finally make Transavia profitable?

It has become one of the largest tour operators across the Channel, in a market where the package holiday remains a reflex for a significant portion of the population, fond of all-inclusive flight + hotel offers, all under the sun, to escape the gray British weather.

In 2024, during Matt Callaghan’s visit to Paris, the head of the tour operator told us more about the winning formula that is lifting the low-cost carrier’s financial results.

In addition to thousands of hotels listed in hundreds of destinations, the package typically includes airfare, luggage up to 23 kg, transfer, and the stay with full board, bed & breakfast, or half-board.

Among the cities favored by the British, unsurprisingly we find Palma, Marrakech, Rome, Tenerife or Lanzarote, spanning city breaks and seaside getaways.

However, upon closer look, this kind of product does not really fit the CSP+ clientele who fill Air France’s planes and hold loyalty cards.

By contrast, it suits wonderfully one of its subsidiaries (Transavia), a regular ally of tour operators, . And that is where the trouble lies.

The famous line would then be all that SETO has left to reply with: Tu quoque, mi fili, or “you too, my son” in good French in the text.

There is a feeling of betrayal that French tour operators might experience at the announcement of this innovation.

At each of our meetings and exchanges with Nicolas Hénin, the former commercial director of Transavia, he reminded us of the special bond the company used to maintain with producers.

“We have a dedicated team, with special prices for tour operators who commit to the year… At our beginnings, we were very TO-oriented. We do not want to lose this link, it is very important for us“, he told us in April 2023.

In the same way, we recall that to explore and launch a new route, the low-cost teams often rely on producers, ensuring them a minimum fill rate and helping to kick off operations.

This decision to internalize production and distribution seems to them the logical next step in the Franco-Dutch group’s developments.

Nevertheless, a certain fear is manifesting in this respect.

The head of a French TO recently confided his worry about this “severe” competition and his fear of a head-on clash, even though today it is its main partner.

After having massively stopped charters, with only a few exceptions, what difference will exist tomorrow between Transavia and certain TOs?

Let us suppose that the differences will be slim and will boil down to on-the-ground knowledge, the exhaustiveness of the offering, but also the routes designed by a few experts who have wandered around the world.

If there exists, on part of the network, a like-minded clientele, the green-liveried airline has the same customer base as easyJet. Only the language and origin differ.

However, note that the package is far less ingrained in French culture than in England or Germany.

Nonetheless, with effective technology, good communication, and the emphasis on the protection that tour operators provide to customers, there is little doubt the offer could appeal to many French travelers.

This will also depend partly on its hotel catalog.

While visiting KLM Holidays, we found that the lodging provider is none other than Booking. The comprehensiveness of the offer should therefore pose no problem if the model is replicated.

On top of that, add the Group’s online reach. Air France sites attract around 60 million visitors each year, while Transavia ranks right after in the aviation category by audience, according to Similarweb.

The task remains to convert a percentage of those millions of visitors. For example, easyJet Holidays counted 3.1 million travelers in 2025, i.e., more than 5% of its audience, and expects 15% more in 2026.

Yet there is often a gulf between intention, execution, and reaching the customer.

This is the point Gilbert Baladi keeps hammering: “Back to the past! One would think we’re in the 70s! Air France NEVER benefits from the experience gained! They have already given: they have lost! They will give again! They will lose again!“

The future will tell us whether, in this new venture, the French airlines will finally be able to say “Veni, vidi, vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered)!