March 2013 was impacted by adverse weather conditions which significantly disrupted operations in Paris for two days. Elsewhere, the early timing of Easter (which fell in April in 2012) underpinned leisure traffic, which partly explains the improvement in load factor.

Passenger
Passenger activity in March 2013 recorded a rise in traffic of 2.2% for virtually stable capacity (+0.2%). The load factor stood at 84.2% (+1.7 points). The group carried 6.45 million passengers, 1.3% more than in March 2012. Unit revenue per available seat kilometer (RASK) ex-currency was slightly higher than in 2012.

• On the Americas network, traffic rose by 0.5% for capacity down by 0.6%, leading to a 1.0 point rise in load factor which reached the very high level of 89.1%. 
• The Asia network recorded a rise of 5.1% in traffic with capacity up by 4.9%. The load factor gained 0.2 points to 86.9%.
• On the Africa and Middle East network, traffic was up by 3.2% with capacity rising by 1.3%. The load factor gained 1.5 points to 80.3%. 
• The Caribbean and Indian Ocean network recorded a 1.0% rise in traffic for capacity down by 2.8%. The load factor gained 3.3 points to 87.5%.
• The European network saw traffic up by 1.8% with a 2.5% reduction in capacity. The load factor stood at 75.1%, a rise of 3.2 points. Further to the launch of ‘Hop!’ regrouping Air France’s French regional activity, March traffic includes the activity of Airlinair for the whole of the first quarter. On a comparable basis, the European network would have recorded a 1.0% rise in traffic for capacity down by 3.6%. The load factor would have stood at 75.6%, up 3.5 points.

Cargo
In March 2013, the cargo activity recorded a 12.1% decline in traffic for capacity down by 6.6%. The load factor declined by 4.1 points to 65.1%. In additition to lacklustre international trade this activity was disrupted by the snowy conditions as well as industrial action in Paris. Unit revenue per available ton kilometer (RATK) ex-currency was lower than in March 2012.

Recent developments

• KLM unveiled its new Word Business Class including a “full-flat” seat, fully reclinable and transformed into a real bed during the flight. This cabin will be progressively installed on the KLM long-haul fleet as of July 2013. The group thereby pursues its investments aimed at matching the expectations of its customers and offering them an exceptional and continually improving level of service on board.
• The group continues to develop its network, with notably, as of the Summer season, the launch by KLM of three new routes from Amsterdam to Fukuoka (Japan), Ålesund (Norway) and Manston (Kent, United Kingdom), and by Air France of routes from Paris to Minneapolis (United States), Montevideo (Uruguay) and Kuala-Lumpur (Malaysia).
• Air France and Canada’s WestJet have signed a code share agreement enabling Air France to offer its customers 15 new Canadian routes operated by WestJet.

Agenda

• May 3rd 2013: First Quarter 2013 Results
• May 14th 2013:  April 2013 Traffic
• May 16th 2013: Annual General meeting at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris.  All documents relating to the Meeting are now available on the ‘Annual General Meeting’ page of the www.airfranceklm-finance.com website.