KLM growing despite problems at Transavia, Cityhopper

Despite problems at Transavia and KLM Cityhopper, the airline KLM achieved better results in the second quarter than a year earlier. Turnover increased by almost 12 percent, but operating profit remained virtually unchanged. The fact that there were significant problems at Schiphol Airport during the May holiday last year, which did not occur this year, played a role in the Dutch airline’s results. The company was able to depart many more flights.

Transavia had to cancel flights in the Netherlands in recent months because it had too few aircraft available. In France, budget aviation was affected by air traffic control strikes. But Transavia is still growing fast and, as a result, the company still transported more passengers than the year before. KLM also suffered from problems with the Embraer aircraft at Cityhopper, which led to canceled flights.

Last year there were problems at Schiphol Airport and the Paris airports. These have now been resolved, to the satisfaction of Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith. “This season is a kind of test for the Olympic Games that will be held in Paris next year and which Air France is sponsoring.”

KLM’s turnover amounted to 3.1 billion euros. For the whole of Air France-KLM, it was 7.8 billion euros. That was 14 percent higher than a year earlier, while the capacity of the group’s companies only grew by 8 percent. The planes were also fuller, and passengers paid more for their tickets. The latter is both because the tickets are more expensive to compensate for inflation but also because passengers have more money to spend on a more luxurious seat.

Moreover, Air France-KLM does not yet see any declining demand due to the high inflation. The bookings are just as fast or even faster than last year. The group is therefore sticking to its previously expressed expectations for 2023. And next year, Air France-KLM expects to return to pre-pandemic levels or even higher in terms of capacity.