The Board of Directors of Air France-KLM met this week to examine the accounts for the First Quarter of 2012.
As anticipated, the first quarter was difficult, in spite of an improvement in activity in March. Strict capacity control as well as good traffic levels led to a rise in unit revenue in the passenger business. However the persistent weakness of international trade weighed on that of cargo. Overall, the improvement in unit revenue was still insufficient to compensate for the rise in costs, notably fuel.
The passenger business saw a 5.5 percent rise in traffic for an increase in capacity limited to 1.6 percent. The load factor gained 3.1 points to 81.6 percent. Unit revenue per available seat kilometer (RASK) progressed by 5.6 percent (+4.7 percent ex. currency) on the back of the rise in volumes. Passenger revenues rose by 8.8 percent after a favorable currency effect of 0.9 percent, to $5.8 billion. The operating result was -$662 million which the company blames on a $294 million increase in the fuel bill.
The economic environment continues to be uncertain, while the fuel price in euros remains at record levels. The annual fuel bill is expected to increase by $1.4 billion.
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