Franco-Dutch aviation giant Air France-KLM Group on Tuesday reported mounting losses in the first quarter of 2024 despite increased revenue.
The company, comprising airlines Air France, KLM and Transavia, reported that its first-quarter net loss was €522 million ($558 million), compared to last year's figure of €344 million.
Operating result was a loss of €489 million, wider than last year's loss of €306 million, impacted by disruption costs and weaker cargo revenues.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell 38% to €176 million from €286 million a year earlier.
Group revenues, however, increased 5.1% to €6.65 billion from last year's €6.33 billion.
Revenues rose by 6.2% on a constant currency basis.
In the first quarter of 2024, Air France-KLM welcomed 20.9 million passengers, 6.2% above the previous year's total.
As capacity increased by 4.5% and traffic grew by 5%, the load factor was up 0.4 points compared to last year, at 86%.
Group passenger unit revenue went up 2.1% compared to the previous year. The rise was driven by an increase in yield across all long-haul areas except for Asia and the Middle East, where capacity grew by 32% while short and medium-haul yield increased as well.
Looking ahead for fiscal 2024, the group's passenger carrying capacity in available seat kilometres (ASK) is expected to increase by 5% in 2024 compared to the previous year.
Group chief executive Benjamin Smith said: "Despite a challenging start to the year with persistent geopolitical tensions, Air France-KLM recorded further revenue growth this quarter, capitalizing on a structurally robust travel demand.
"We nonetheless remain confident in our ability to achieve our 2024 unit cost outlook.
"Finally, we are actively gearing up for a promising summer season with, in Paris, the eagerly-awaited Olympic and Paralympic Games," he added.
