Air France-KLM third-quarter profit and KLM cost-cutting measures, Digi Mart USA News: Franco-Dutch airline group Air France-KLM on Thursday reported a 22% rise in third-quarter net profit, the peak season quarter, driven by higher revenue per passenger. Profit reached 938 million euros.
Over the first nine months of the year, however, net profit fell 25% to 877 million euros.
Amid high fuel costs, the group also announced in a statement a set of new savings measures for its KLM division, which comprises KLM and Transavia Netherlands and is less profitable than Air France. The measures include a revision of collective bargaining agreements aimed at “strict control of changes in the wage bill,” the reorganization of “certain activities linked to ground operations, cargo and maintenance,” sometimes through outsourcing and sometimes through reintegration, and the end of operating the “oldest” aircraft, which consume the most kerosene.
Chief Executive Benjamin Smith praised “a resilient third quarter.” “Demand in our key strategic markets, combined with strong commercial discipline, led to higher unit revenues, while continued cost control, together with well-managed fuel costs, kept unit costs broadly stable,” he said.
Revenue rose 8% in the quarter to 9.916 billion euros. At constant exchange rates, the increase was 12%.
The group said strong unit revenues fully offset the impact of higher fuel prices amid a crisis in the Middle East, and that rigorous cost control limited the rise in unit costs to just 0.1%.
Air France-KLM said it had hedged the price of 54% of the fuel it expects to consume in 2027, compared with 68% for 2026. It also raised its estimate of its 2026 fuel bill to 9.2 billion dollars, 300 million dollars more than its previous forecast.
