Orly and Roissy should follow at 23 hours

"P cool as... to follow", says, succinctly, the message of Jean Susini, "risk manager" of Club Med, sent by BlackBerry may 3 at 22: 35 to Sylvain Rabuel, Director General new markets Europeans and patron of the Club crisis cell, Hervé Djiane-Gicquel, Director of transport, and Thierry Orsoni, Director of communication. Earlier, in 17 hours, Susini is aware of the arrival of a new cloud of ash from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjöll, and, in the wake of the closure of part of Scottish airspace. Flat doubt on a possible closing, following hours, the Irish sky. Applying to the letter the instructions of the Club, appearing on a "crisis Guide" with a vademecum indicating mentoring who to contact in case of problems, "manager risk" was informed in priority three officials "crisis, transport, communication... They are now therefore again on the bridge - even if the crisis cell is not reopened, while all appeared to have regained a semblance of calm.

On 29 April, laptops that had not stopped ringing day and night at the four corners of the world are are indeed finally tus. The crisis unit is dissolved. And, the same day, Henri Giscard d'Estaing, President of Club Med, published in "Le Figaro" a letter of a page starting by a vibrating "thank you"... Way, of course, welcome all contributors, for fifteen days, had to juggle with the closure of European airspace and information distilled in dribs and drabs by the authorities. But the letter of "Henri", as it is known colloquially in the corridors of the Club, was also intended to reassure customers and financial markets on the ability of the group to manage the crisis of the Icelandic cloud, then that just released an article of "Capital" fiercely pinning the quality of travel services. "95 of our customers have been back home this weekend and, in the best possible conditions", still insists the letter. Ten days earlier, on 19 April, Club Med has encrypted with analysts the likely impact of the eruption to EUR 5 million, while the tour operator Thomas Cook anticipated 7 million books and TUI Travel, 20 million.

Crisis unit

Thursday, April 15, when fall the first information about the unexpected eruption of the Icelandic cloud consternation reigns at the headquarters of the Club, rue de Cambrai, Paris. All airports of Northern Europe (Sweden, United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands, North of the France) are closed. Orly and Roissy should follow at 23 hours. Or a flight to Phuket is scheduled the same day. Take-off will be advanced one hour so that clients are not blocked in Paris. The device of "crisis management" in effect immediately initiated, as the company calls crisis "any event out of the standard, likely to jeopardise the safety of persons and facilities, the integrity of the brand and its image".

A first crisis, chaired by Sylvain Rabuel unit and comprising 15 people - without Henri Giscard d'Estaing - is the afternoon of April 15. Unlike the crisis of the tsunami in December 2004, which saw the communications dealt with in part by Image 7, Anne Méaux Board society, everything is managed well of the company. And this April 15, a teleconference is scheduled at 19 hours to prepare a first point: the next day, 600 departures are planned for the France, April 17, 2.345 departures, 18, 2.295 departures... How to treat all reports probable and irritation of the interested parties "Insofar as, unlike other tour, our customers are members, we have all their portable computers and were able to contact them without any problem." We have called all the villages, organized the home in airports, and coordinated calls via a "call centers". "Which meant be on the bridge 24 hours a day", said Hervé Djiane-Gicquel. "Henri", he is "kept at the current time per hour", but reliable information is scarce. Quite regularly, indeed, the reopening of airports is announced... to be immediately denied.

For the Club, "are scheduled flights to the villages of the island Maurice, of Miami to the South of the United States, Phuket in Thailand and Maldives have been the most problematic." "In total, we had 10,000 customers to manage, including 5,000 blocked on the spot," says Hervé Djiane-Gicquel. Each time, additional nights are available at the 8,000 travellers chose the option "package" (flight including stay), while the 1,700 other are offered a 50 reduction. Side info, villages are not better off than managers blocked in Paris: "We conducted by emails to prevent customers, explains Eric Lejeune, head of the village of Cap Skirring (Senegal)." But often we were notified of the cancellation of flights at the last moment. Practically, in all the villages, departures planned Sunday have been made on Tuesday. "With respect to the return of Cap Skirring, they will be finally made via Charter aircraft vacuum from Nantes. With on the one hand, the businessmen stressed, anxious families... and on the other, a (small) handful of customers who have benefited from unexpected additional holiday, starting work with printing misleading of dried school. Internally, some believe that the total addition could rise at least to EUR 7 million. Expensive vacation...