Air France-KLM announced Friday it doubled its year-on-year net profit in the second quarter to 604 million euros ($662 million), benefiting from high demand in air travel despite rising inflation which has increased costs.
The Franco-Dutch group saw its sales rise by 13.7 percent compared with the same period in 2022 to 7.6 billion euros, boosted by an increase in passengers and higher ticket prices, achieving a “record” operational margin of 9.6 percent, it said in a statement.
The results were reached despite seat capacity being down eight percent compared with 2019, before the pandemic.
Air France, KLM and Transavia transported a total of 24.7 million passengers between April and June, down 11 percent compared to the same period four years ago.
Ticket prices have soared since the pandemic driven by rising fuel costs, increased demand and capacity constraints.
Despite high inflation putting a strain on consumers’ pockets, Air France-KLM said it expects bookings for the current quarter — which includes the crucial summer holiday season — to be at the same or higher level compared with 2022.
However inflation is affecting the group’s costs, which have risen 5.6 percent in the second quarter of the year, compared to just 0.7 percent in the first quarter.
These costs reduced operational profits by some 337 million euros, offsetting gains from lower fuel prices. Still, operational profits nearly doubled compared to the second quarter last year by 733 million euros.
Air France-KLM turned a profit last year after having lost 11 billion euros during the pandemic, requiring the governments of France and the Netherlands to intervene.
The company’s debt has fallen by 1.4 billion euros since the end of December to 4.9 billion.
