Air France-KLM reports a sharp drop in profits in the third quarter, in particular as a result of the 14-day strike by French pilots and also the general weakness of the economic environment. The French-Dutch group in the three months to September recorded a net profit of 100 million euros, down 32%.
The impact of the dispute with the pilots, linked to the low-cost airline Transavia, was estimated at 330 million euros on operating profit, which fell to 247 million from 641 million. The strike also had a negative impact of 416 million on turnover which fell by 6,7% to 6,69 billion.
In the first nine months of the year, the group's loss amounted to 514 million euros compared to 651 million in the same period of 2013. Operating profit for the period decreased to 40 million from 193 million and turnover decreased by 3,6 % to 18,7 billion. The group's debt amounts to 5,27 billion, down by 76 million compared to the end of 2013.
In a note, the Air France KLM group underlines that it is "determined" to limit the consequences of the strike and the worsening of unit revenues that occurred during the summer "by adapting the investment programme, accelerating cost reductions and dynamically managing the asset portfolio".
