First millennials’ airline set to close shop after two years

The first airline to be aimed at ‘millennial travellers’ looks set to close with bosses saying the brand was “too difficult to understand”.
Joon, launched by Air France in 2017, had been targeting young passengers with low cost fares, staff in trendy uniforms and by serving the likes of quinoa bowls and craft beers on board.

However, Air France confirmed that it would be winding down the Joon operation and integrating it into its main business.The French national carrier said all Joon staff would be transferred to Air France and that all flights either sold or on sale would be honoured.

In a statement, Air France, said: “After much discussion with employees and customers alike, and in consultation with the unions, Air France has decided to launch a project studying the future of the Joon brand and the integration of Joon employees and aircraft into Air France.

“Despite the many positive impacts of Joon, in particular the invaluable contribution of the teams at Joon, who launched the company and worked with passion and dedication, the brand was difficult to understand from the outset for customers, for employees, for markets and for investors.

“The plurality of brands in the marketplace has created much complexity and unfortunately weakened the power of the Air France brand.“Through integration, Air France would see many benefits thanks to fleet, brand, and product harmonisation.

“Managing the operation would be improved through a common fleet of aircraft. Air France will also be able to ensure a smooth transition of the Airbus A350, currently on order, to the Air France fleet with a more economical cabin configuration.”Joon’s base is at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. It serves a number of European cities as well as long-haul destinations such as Brazil and South Africa. Its demise comes just months after another budget operator also stopped flying.Primera Air, which flew budget flights from the UK, collapsed leaving some passengers stranded.