Air France-KLM plans to “progressively ramp up
capacity” in the coming months in line with European vaccination rates,
even as both France and the Netherlands continue to face Covid-19 lockdowns.

For now, the second quarter has started out “similar to
the first quarter,” with most bookings coming in with little lead time,
according to the group. Passenger revenue in the first quarter was down 73.3 percent
year over year to €1.02 billion, and capacity was down 46.2 percent. The group
also continues to be issuing a high volume of refunds, with €550 million issued
during the first quarter, making a grand total of €2.8 billion since the onset
of the pandemic.

Although the vaccination pace in Europe has been slower than
the United States, which has seen a stronger improvement at least in domestic
leisure demand, Air France-KLM expects to build up capacity over the next two
quarters. For the second quarter, it projects capacity will be 50 percent of
levels in the second quarter of 2019, and that will increase to 55 percent to
65 percent of 2019 levels in the third quarter.

The group reported a net loss of €1.5 billion in the first
quarter, and improvement of €320 million compared with the first quarter of
2020. Last month, Air France-KLM announced it would be getting as much as €4
billion in a rescue plan from the French government, which “allows us to
look forward to the summer season with greater confidence, hoping that the
progress of the vaccination roll-out worldwide and the implementation of travel
passes will allow borders to reopen and traffic to recover,” according to
Air France-KLM CEO Benjamin Smith.

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