Air France-KLM had its best quarter ever this summer. For the period from July to September, the aviation group has an operating profit of 1.3 billion euros, which is an improvement on the record of six years ago. Profit rose by almost a third in the third quarter compared to last year.
Due to strong demand for airline tickets, planes were fuller last summer and Air France-KLM was able to charge more for a ticket. As a result, the merged company more than made up for higher fuel and salary costs.
Budget airline Transavia in particular grew strongly, despite the problems caused by a shortage of available aircraft. Hundreds of flights during the summer holidays were canceled as a result, but the capacity was still 14 percent higher than a year earlier and well above the level before the corona crisis. The entire group was at 94 percent of the 2019 level. By next year, all influence of the corona pandemic is expected to be erased.
Busy summer
Air France-KLM received 7 percent more money in recent months than a year earlier. In the second quarter, turnover growth was still 14 percent, but this was because there was much less travel in the same period in 2022 due to the corona crisis. CEO Ben Smith now speaks of a ‘solid quarter, helped by strong demand in the summer period’. The net profit, which also deducts costs such as taxes and debts, more than doubled to 900 million euros.
KLM is having more difficulty recovering from the corona period than its French sister company. KLM increased capacity last year by 5 percent, Air France by 7 percent. The Dutch branch made a profit of 539 million euros, compared to 806 million euros for Air France. The group’s freight division remains a concern, but according to the group, the one-third decline in turnover is stable compared to earlier this year.
Much less to Asian destinations
Capacity on flights to China and Japan is still only about half of the 2019 level, although the number of flights to those countries has already increased significantly this year after the relaxation of local corona rules, especially in China. Air France-KLM even saved less on its flights to Asia and the Middle East last quarter than last year.
South America, on the other hand, is very popular. The planes in that direction are the best filled of all the areas the group goes to. North America also showed growth.
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