The loss for Air France-KLM amounted to 480 million euros in the first quarter of this year, compared to a negative result of 337 million euros over the same period in 2023. It is the largest quarterly loss since the end of the corona crisis. The majority of the loss (290 million euros) was attributable to the Dutch branch. KLM suffered from poor weather conditions and a lack of sufficiently deployable aircraft, partly due to a shortage of technical staff and the late delivery of parts.
“To achieve our ambitions, we need to improve our margins and reduce unit costs. The results of the first quarter put the financial position under pressure and therefore these additional measures are necessary. To reduce labor costs, we will look very critically at the filling of indirect functions and postpone or discontinue them where possible. We will also examine investments and reconsider them if necessary,” says Bas Brouns, KLM’s new financial director.
Air France-KLM is not the only airline trying to control costs. Lufthansa also announced cost savings on Tuesday. That German group suffered an operating loss of 849 million euros in January, February and March, almost 600 million euros more than a year earlier. Lufthansa mainly suffered from persistent strikes in Germany this year. Wage agreements have now been concluded with trade unions for ground and cabin crew.
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