Air France KLM and the French Business Council Dubai & Northern Emirates (FBC) have joined forces to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UAE by offering a free membership of the airline’s benefits programme.

All new members enrolling in the FBC will be offered the airline’s BlueBiz corporate, alongside Silver Elite Air France KLM Flying Blue frequent flyer programme cards.

BlueBiz, which covers Air France and KLM flights, is a flexible programme designed to help smaller companies to pool and more effectively utilise and share their benefits, including free tickets, upgrades and increased baggage allowances. Existing FBC members are also eligible for membership.

As extra incentive, one complimentary Silver Elite card – normally only available to larger companies - can be requested via the Air France KLM helpdesk, a statement said.

“We warmly welcome this move by Air France - as a representative of LE Club - to support our new members, most of which are SMEs and who will value this corporate benefits programme,” said Fabienne Lucas, director of the FBC.

“Many of these companies have only a handful of staff and the ability to share benefits will help them develop their business beyond the immediate market of the UAE.”

“In a recent survey, around 50 per cent of FBC members anticipated an increase in investment and recruitment in 2011, so the timing of this new joint SME programme is excellent. BlueBiz supports this growing confidence amongst our members and will help our SME members realise their business development plans,” she explained.

Pierre de Saint-Albin, Air France KLM general manager for the Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan, said: "Small and medium enterprises are looking for an easy-to-use Corporate Benefits programme enabling them to make additional savings on their travel budget.”

“By developing a new programme, the Air France KLM Group offers small and medium-sized businesses extended coverage of its entire network and partners,” he added.

Air France is responding to the needs of the SME sector, which is an increasingly important passenger segment. The overwhelming majority of the FBC’s 400+ members are SMEs, the statement said.

The airline is also actively supporting the FBC’s new ‘LE Club’ group, which represents larger enterprises and is helping to generate added benefits for all FBC members, including the SMEs, it added. – TradeArabia News Service