Air France-KLM sees passenger growth and strong cash flow in Q1

Air France-KLM reported a strong first quarter, with 21.8 million passengers carried—an increase of 4.5% compared to the same period last year. The group saw capacity rise by 3.8% and traffic grow by 3.3%, resulting in a broadly stable load factor of 86.0%.

Unit revenue per available seat kilometre (ASK) rose by 3.0% at constant currency, driven by solid performance in both the passenger network and cargo divisions. Passenger yields were notably strong across key regions, including North Atlantic, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and premium cabins. Cargo also performed well, with traffic from Asia pushing unit revenue per available tonne kilometre (ATK) up 16.2% at constant currency.

Although the group posted an operating loss of €328 million, this result was €161 million better than the same period last year. The improvement was largely due to €181 million in increased unit revenues and €190 million saved from lower fuel and ETS costs, partly offset by €136 million in higher unit costs at constant fuel prices and currency.

Operating free cash flow stood at €1.009 million, driven mainly by strong ticket sales, despite pandemic-related deferrals totalling €122 million. Net capital expenditure reached €896 million. Recurring adjusted operating free cash flow rose by €190 million year-on-year to €783 million.

As of the end of March, cash at hand was €9.3 billion—down slightly due to the early redemption of €515.2 million in bonds, yet still above the targeted €6 to €8 billion range. Net debt fell to €6.9 billion, while the Group’s leverage ratio improved to 1.6x, remaining within its strategic target range of 1.5x to 2.0x.