But Europe’s biggest airline said its cargo operation swung to a profit in the fiscal second quarter from a loss a year ago as increased operating margins off set lower freight volumes.
The carrier’s cargo unit reported operating income of 5 million euros (US$6.25 million) in the July-September period against a loss of $15 million in the 2007 quarter. Profit for the first six months totaled $27.5 million from a loss of $36.25 million a year ago.
The carrier’s closest European rival, Lufthansa, booked cargo profits of $57.5 million in the July-September period, up from $45 million the previous year.
Air France-KLM’s second-quarter cargo revenue climbed 8.5 per cent to $979 million from $903 million as an 18-per cent surge in revenue per tonne of cargo flown more than off set a 6.8-per cent decline in traffic. First-half revenue gained 9.5 per cent at $1.94 billion but traffic fell 2.7 per cent.
Load factors slipped 4.5 percentage points in the second quarter to 61.3 per cent from 65.5 per cent in 2007.
Air France-KLM’s overall net income plunged 96 per cent in the quarter to $35 million from $920 million as fuel costs soared 35 per cent and the carrier took a charge of $266 million for fuel futures contracts.
Chairman and CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta said the results were “a good performance in a more difficult environment”. He also highlighted that the company’s 6 per cent operating margin and solid operating profit were “clearly better” than its major European rivals.
Fiscal first-half net profit, meanwhile, fell 82.9 per cent to €196 million on a 4.4 per cent increase in revenue to €12.93 billion.
Going forward Spinetta said measures to cope with the downturn include a scaling back of planned growth: Capacity network wide will rise just 1.7 per cent year-over-year for the winter season and only 1-2 per cent for the 2009 summer schedule.