Air France-KLM suffered a loss of almost half a billion euros in the past quarter. This is the biggest loss since the corona crisis. The number of passengers showed growth. The loss of 489 million euros is partly the result of geopolitical tensions. For example, since the war in Ukraine, KLM has had to fly around Russia, which takes more time and fuel. The group is also still struggling with a shortage of personnel, including pilots and technicians. At the same time, salary costs are rising. The airline combination did carry more passengers in the first quarter: 20 million. This number, 6.2 percent more than last year, is mainly due to KLM. The KLM Group, the Dutch branch of the group, achieved a turnover of 2.7 billion euros in the first quarter, with an operating loss of 290 million. The first quarter is traditionally low season for aviation. In addition to rising costs, the availability of the fleet was insufficient in January and February. Measures have been taken for this, as a result of which March showed an improvement, says KLM. The airline also had to deal with a large number of disruptions in January and February, forcing customers to be rebooked on other flights. According to KLM, people still want to travel. KLM and its subsidiary Transavia flew 94 percent of the capacity target in the first quarter of this year. The deployability of the fleet was insufficient because aircraft were waiting longer in the hangar for parts. This is due to the ongoing global supply chain issues. KLM has to hire aircraft to cope with the longer maintenance time, while the cost of concluding and renewing aircraft leases has risen significantly due to global scarcity. On top of that, there are the costs of compensation and care for passengers who experience disruptions. KLM carried 7.5 million passengers in the first quarter. Transavia recorded 1.8 million passengers. (Photo Shutterstock).
