The airline industry has not exactly been thriving since September 11. The high-profile collapses of European airlines such as Sabena and Swissair have highlighted the fact that the sector is under pressure from high debt levels, competition from low-cost carriers and, most sinister of all, people's heightened fear of flying following the terrorist attacks in the US.

But Air France seems to be doing rather better than most of its rivals. Bankruptcies and record losses dominate the airline sector, and particularly the higher end of the market that includes national carriers like Air France.