Career narrative

Christophe Attard post graduated in Mathematics with high honors from Université Paris 6 Pierre et Marie Curie, ENSAE and Laboratoire d’Économétrie de l’École Polytechnique in 1998. He then started working with Air France, in Paris Head Quarter, within the Revenue Management and Pricing Department, where he held several roles. 

Starting his career as yield manager on France - UK routes, Mr. Attard has been able to maintain the route profitability in a context of increasing competition. With the development of the Eurostar train service between Paris and London, he developed new traffic flows on Air France flights to UK, leveraging demand from long haul markets. This new way of optimizing revenue, taking into account the whole network, instead of focusing only on each route individually, led naturally Mr. Attard to join in 2000 the team in charge of developing a more efficient algorithm for the Revenue Management. 

In 2002, after a successful implementation of this upgrade, improving by 30% the revenue generated by the former algorithm, Mr. Attard has been appointed Head of the Reporting Team. He was managing 4 direct reports, in charge of creating new softwares and training yield managers and pricers. To better optimize the pricing strategy, he initiated and supervised the development of a new tool, merging different databases, enabling the evaluation of price changes on purchase behaviors and the impact on demand and revenue. 

In 2005, after several proven successes within the Revenue Management and Pricing Department, and while Air France KLM was creating its new Marketing Department, Mr. Attard has been proposed to join the Customer Experience team, as Long Haul Economy Product Manager. Using his analytical background, and his creativity, he conducted the development of a new seat, to densify the cabin while still offering more legroom and individual screens. After a pilot test, the seat has been deployed on all Air France and KLM Boeing 777’s, adding 5% extra capacity to sell and maintaining the overall customer’s satisfaction. 

Then, in 2007, Mr. Attard proposed the creation of a new cabin between Economy and Business to offer a never-before-seen alternative for a growing demographic with a passion for travel and comfort, but with a modest disposable income. He created the business case, defined the product and the unique class of service, and directed the development and implementation while managing the budget and coordinating with various internal and external stakeholders. This new product became profitable after just one year, achieving a higher revenue margin than the Economy cabin. 

In 2010, after he completed the roll out of the Premium Economy cabin, with no delay and within budget, Mr. Attard has been recruited within the Air France KLM Commercial Department. He started to work for the Americas market, as the Executive Advisor to the SVP Americas, managing and monitoring a $20M cost reduction plan as well as setting up a new organization to merge teams and synchronize efforts – adding an additional $5M in savings. 

This position led him to move to New York in 2012, to oversee Air France-KLM Americas as Business Development Director. To increase both Air France and KLM’s commercial presence in South America, he directed the opening of four new routes (Paris-Montevideo, Paris-Panama, Amsterdam-Santiago de Chile, and Paris-Brasilia). Additionally, he strengthened partnerships with airlines including Gol and Aerolineas Argentinas. These developments supported a 10% increase in Air France and KLM revenues generated in South America. 

In March 2014, to better position Air France and KLM brands in North America, Mr. Attard has been selected to serve as Vice President of Marketing and Communications. Executive Board member responsible for generating strategy for Air France KLM, he leads 4 Department Directors, manages a team of 20, and works with several external agencies, including a PR firm. He manages a $12M budget to reach $2.5b revenue, monitors targets with tangible KPIs and implements appropriate actions on e-commerce, digital marketing, advertising and offline marketing, experiential marketing, trade and corporate marketing, loyalty program, sponsorships and partnerships, VIP client activations, internal and external communications, and local crisis communication.

In order to tackle the challenges in this very competitive market, he built a new organization, conducted a brand perception study resulting in a three year strategic plan, and implemented several campaigns achieving significant revenue gains and positive brand exposure. To increase sales on Air France and KLM out of the USA, Mr. Attard defined effective programs, supporting a global 20% increase of the revenues over 3 years. He optimized Air France and KLM digital presence, leveraging e-acquisition, web mastering, creating campaigns to extend and better qualify audience, achieving +30% fans, a 110 engagement index, a 135 website visit index, and resulting in +20% direct online bookings year over year. He developed the Frequent Flyer program, partnering with Citi, Chase and American Express, to build conversion campaigns which generated 10% extra revenues month over month. Prospecting in events and encouraging referrals from current clients, he extended by 20% the VIP clients’ portfolio with an average yearly spent of $90K. He defined Trade and Corporate strategy, ensuring meaningful presence at trade shows and fairs, participating in a 3 points share gap increase on these channels, which represent 70% of the total revenue. In 3 years, he generated 3 points more in brand preference for Air France, and increased KLM spontaneous brand awareness by 2 points. On this role, he directed impactful campaigns for two iconic international brands, including the 2016 KLM digital brand awareness initiative featured on CNN and in the NY Times, entitled “It’s An Airline.” 

In his 18+ years of leadership at Air France KLM, Mr. Attard has built business cases to initiate and launch new products and routes, designed cost saving and revenue-generating strategies, and led teams to create impactful interactive and digital marketing strategies.Team leader, problem solver, analytical and creative thinker, Mr. Attard is highly experienced in conceptualizing, developing and implementing new offers. He is a senior executive who has successfully built and led cross-functional teams to develop commercial, marketing, and business strategies, with a strong track record of consistent profit growth.