Air France and KLM plan to raise capacity by 3-4% this year, but will add 6-7% to the group’s Transavia budget airline brand. AF/KLM said initial 2018 sales “show a continued positive trend in demand for early 2018”.
It said long-haul forward bookings for first three months were ahead of last year “with a strong March 2018 due to the Easter shift”.
The group’s bullish forecast came as it revealed financial results for 2017/18. It made a net loss of €274 million, but this included a one-off hit from a de-recognition of two pension plans that cost €1.43 billion.
Excluding this, the group made a net profit of €1.15 billion, an increase of €363 million.
