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Product cover image for Air France-KLM: A Strategy for the European Skies

Air France-KLM: A Strategy for the European Skies

Paul Marchand, Gwyneth Edwards

Product #:W25116
Supplier:Ivey
Discipline:International Business, Strategy
Setting:Europe, 2019
Details:Case (PDF) • 15 pages • 2021-09-20

Subjects:

Business managementInternational businessStrategy

Industries:

Transportation and distribution

Geography:

Europe
Your Price:$9.71

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In January 2019, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the French air transport group Air France–KLM SA (Air France–KLM) was tasked with developing the firm’s vision for the upcoming meeting of the board of directors. Faced with several challenges, such as low profitability, falling prices, and increasing competition, Air France–KLM had gone from leading the European market in 2004 to fourth position in 2019. At the same time, the European air transport industry had been affected by the rise of local low-cost airlines and the entry of high-end airlines from emerging economies. In response, Air France–KLM had created several businesses to challenge the new competition, but it had yet to improve performance. In this changing competitive context, what strategy should the CEO propose?

Learning Objectives

The case is designed for undergraduate- and graduate-level courses on strategy, in a session that looks at corporate- or business-level strategies or in a session on mergers and acquisitions. The case could also be used in a class on international business to analyze the complexity of a multinational corporation. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to
  • analyze and synthesize a complex competitive industry environment (air transport) that is influenced by both market and non-market forces, using theoretical frameworks;
  • assess the level of a business unit’s competitiveness using theoretical frameworks;
  • defend their analyses and propose feasible business solutions appropriate for the current and future (potential) context; and
  • understand how a horizontal (competitor) merger can create internal competition within the newly formed firm and how that needs to be considered when strategizing.
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Case Study: Air France-KLM: A Strategy for the European Skies (English version) | Ivey Publishing