Air France-KLM, which has racked up losses of more than US$2 billion in the past 18 months, has returned to profit in the third quarter 2012.
The ailing airline generated net income of EUR306 million (US$396m) for the three months to 30 September 2012. This marks a considerable improvement on the EUR14m net profit recorded in Q3 2011 and narrows the airline’s year-to-date loss for 2012 to EUR957m – down from the EUR1.26bn loss recorded in a turbulent first six months of the year.
The positive third quarter result follows a 5.8% rise in revenues, which totalled EUR7.18bn. This was due to a slight 0.9% rise in passenger traffic combined with a positive foreign exchange effect following the euro’s depreciation.
Air France also said that it is starting to see the effects of its Transform 2015 cost-cutting plan, which includes the reduction of an estimated 5,000 jobs.
