The recovery in ticket demand after the CoV crisis gave the airline Air France-KLM a boost at the start of the year. CEO Ben Smith reported today very encouraging booking figures for the summer.
In the main travel season of the third quarter, the manager wants to increase the number of flights to around 95 percent of the pre-crisis level of 2019 – and also to reach this level for the year as a whole.
Just a few days ago, Air France-KLM repaid the last aid money that France and the Netherlands had used to save the group from going under in the CoV crisis. “We’re on our own two feet now,” Smith said when presenting the company’s first-quarter results.
In the first three months of the year, the Group’s airlines carried 19.65 million passengers, 35 percent more than in the same period last year, which was affected by the pandemic. Sales rose by 42 percent to 6.3 billion euros, as the company announced in Paris.
Expressed interest in joining TAP
However, the loss in day-to-day business only fell by 15 percent to 304 million euros due to sharply increased expenses for fuel and salaries. The bottom line was that the deficit fell more significantly, by 38 percent to 344 million euros.
After the state aid has been repaid, Air France-KLM could buy other airlines again. Smith has already expressed interest in joining the Portuguese state airline TAP. The Portuguese government is looking for a partner from the industry. Lufthansa also has an eye on TAP.
