The air gap has passed, Air France-KLM is regaining altitude.

After the turbulence linked to the Covid-19 epidemic, the air group took advantage of the reopening of many borders to restore health and regain morale.

The July-September period ended with a net loss of 192 million euros, which marks a significant improvement over the 1.5 billion euros lost in each of the previous two quarters.

Above all, Air France-KLM kept its promise of a positive gross operating profit and returned to operating profit of 132 million euros.

This is largely due to the “strong performance” of the group's low-cost company, Transavia, which took advantage of its customers' appetite for sunny destinations on the Old Continent (Spain, Portugal, Greece) last summer, as many countries with access facilitated by the European health certificate.

The company with white and green planes saw its number of passengers explode by 111% over one year in the third quarter, "with activity levels returned to around 85%" from the pre-crisis period.

Good performance also in freight, with turnover up 23.4% to 835 million euros, representing nearly 20% of total activity.

But for the group as a whole, the situation remains complicated.

Many long-haul flights are still pending, especially to Asia, and the company has transported "only" 16.94 million people this summer.

This is the double of last summer, but still far from the 29.1 million of the third quarter of 2019. The turnover is affected in the same orders of magnitude, to 4.56 billion euros, that is to say 58% of 2019 level.

The reopening of borders in the United States expected

Investors, however, reacted with enthusiasm to this publication, the Air France-KLM title jumping 5.8% shortly after opening Friday in a market down 0.32%. The general manager of the group, Benjamin Smith, was delighted with a "beautiful summer season". The return to operational profit "encourages us to continue our efforts", he adds, while Air France-KLM is engaged in an all-out savings plan which results in thousands of voluntary departures.

The reopening to foreigners on November 8 of the borders of the United States, the destination to which Air France-KLM achieved 40% of its long-haul turnover before the crisis, is a factor of optimism, especially since " we are seeing strong demand ”from customers, said CFO Steven Zaat.

Another symbol of good health, the company will begin to repay its loan guaranteed by the State.

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