Amstelveen,
08
October
2014
|
07:57
Europe/Amsterdam

AIRFRANCE KLM September 2014 Traffic Results

Summary
  • Passenger: activity significantly impacted by 14 days of Air France pilot strikes

  • Leisure: ongoing accelerated development of Transavia in France

  • Outlook: updated to reflect the consequences of the strike

Traffic highlights

  • 5.7 million passengers, -16.3%
  • Unit revenue per available seat kilometer (RASK) ex-currency down compared to September 2013
  • 14 days of strikes by several Air France pilot unions, operations disrupted for a further two days

Transavia

  • 1.1 million passengers, +10.2%
  • Ongoing accelerated development of Transavia in France: capacity up by 21.4%, with a load factor above 85%

Cargo

  • Unit revenue per available ton kilometer (RATK) ex-currency down compared to September 2013

The impact of the pilot strike on the third quarter operating result is currently estimated at between €320 million and €350 million. This figure includes the impact on revenue, net of the expenses avoided, together with all the additional costs.

Furthermore, between the beginning and the end of the strike, the Group noted a 1 to 2-point delay in fourth quarter booking trends, without being able precisely to apportion responsibility for this delay between the strike and the unfavorable demand trend seen since the early summer and subsequently confirmed. The Group estimates that part of this delay could be progressively reduced over the coming weeks, without being able to quantify this adjustment exactly given the exceptional nature of the event.

All of the above elements could have an impact of around €500 million on EBITDA for the 2014 financial year.

Strategic development: Winter 2014-15 scheduleFor the 2014-15 Winter season (26th October 2014 to 28th March 2015), the Group’s capacity expressed in ASK is expected to grow by +0.7%, of which +0.1% for the passenger business (Air France, Hop and KLM) and +13.3% for Transavia.

  • Long-haul capacity will be broadly stable (+0.3%) with very targeted development: maintenance of the Paris-Brasilia service launched over the summer within the framework of the partnership with GOL, additional Amsterdam-Atlanta flights, bringing into service of the A380 on Abidjan, and ongoing development of Tokyo Haneda.
  • Short and Medium-haul capacity from the CDG and Amsterdam hubs will be slightly increased (+3.1%), driven as over the summer by the growth in the network at Amsterdam. Main developments include the maintenance over the Winter of the services launched during the summer from Amsterdam to Turin, Bilbao and Zagreb and from Paris to Stavanger, additional frequencies on Amsterdam-Bergen, Billund, Moscow and Bordeaux.
  • As in the Summer season, Short and Medium-haul point-to-point capacity continues to be adjusted lower (-11.3%) with, notably, a further adaptation of the schedule in the provincial bases, and some frequency reductions on Orly-Bordeaux and Orly-Toulouse.

The Group continues the deployment of its new long-haul products. By the end of 2014, 22 B747s and one B777 will be equipped at KLM and 5 B777s at Air France.

Transavia capacity will be up 13.3%. Growth will be concentrated on France (+56%) with, notably, the maintenance of routes with reduced seasonality launched in Summer 2014.

Agenda

  • 29th October 2014: Q3 2014 results release
  • 12th November 2014: October 2014 traffic
  • 8th December 2014: November 2014 traffic