[Savin][The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition]
April 7, 2000

Business Focus

Air France Does About-Face
On English-Only Mandate

By a WALL STREET JOURNAL Staff Reporter

PARIS -- Faced with complaints from employees, politicians and average citizens, Air France abruptly canceled its English-only mandate to pilots operating at its Charles de Gaulle hub outside Paris.

[Go]1Pardon My French, but It's English Only on the Flight Deck for Air France Pilots (March 23)

After a year of planning and several weeks painstakingly briefing cockpit crews, the French flag carrier on March 23 began requiring all of its pilots to drop French and speak only English with controllers at the field. At the time, the airline's safety officials said the change would be permanent, asserting it was essential to reduce the chances of accidents by eliminating potential confusion among the increasing number of foreign aircraft serving the airport.

But two weeks after the directive took effect, Air France reversed course, saying it suspended the order to review the results. The decision followed demands for a return to French from pilot union leaders and comments by Prime Minister Lionel Jospin that he had been surprised by the English-only rule.

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