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PARIS, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Low-cost airline easyJet
has added baggage services to its flight-connections partnership
with two budget long-haul carriers flying from Paris, in a move
that challenges Air France on transatlantic and Caribbean
leisure routes.
Starting on Friday, easyJet said passengers arriving at Orly
for connecting flights with La Compagnie or Corsair can re-check
baggage at a desk near the carousel before being fast-tracked to
their next boarding gate with easyJet's "self-connect" service.
Traditional carriers such as Air France-KLM, whose
regional networks have been eroded by low-cost rivals, now face
stiffer long-haul competition as budget and point-to-point
operators combine offerings to provide new connections and
routes.
The latest such partnership, announced by Norwegian Air
and JetBlue, will connect dozens of American
cities with Norwegian flights between New York, Boston or Fort
Lauderdale and Europe, on a single booking.
The Orly connection service, supported by ground handling
firm Alysia, adds a fourth airport to easyJet's "Worldwide"
long-haul connections already operating at London Gatwick,
Berlin Tegel and Milan Malpensa with airline partners including
Norwegian, Virgin Atlantic and WestJet.
Transavia, Air France-KLM's low-cost arm, is fighting back
with its own "Smart Connect" service that will begin
coordinating flight transfers between its French and Dutch
operations to offer new destinations.
To accommodate transfers between terminals, the easyJet
Worldwide service includes a minimum connection time of
two-and-a-half hours. Unlike some network carriers, easyJet will
not hold back departures for passengers on delayed feeder
flights.
The operation "does not impact easyJet's punctuality, its
asset utilisation or operating model", the company said on
Friday.
(Reporting by Laurence Frost. Editing by Jane Merriman)
