AIR FRANCE KLM November 2011 Traffic results

In order to facilitate comparisons from one year to another, data for the passenger division for last year are restated as from this month to include the passenger business of Martinair. Elsewhere, traffic was affected by a strike by Air France cabin crew which straddled October (3 days) and November (2 days). The impact of this strike on the operating result is estimated at €28m. 

In November 2011, traffic rose 2.5% for capacity up 1.7%, leading to a 0.6 point rise in the load factor to 79.7%. The number of passengers stood at 5.87 million, up 2.6%. The slight rise in unit revenue per available seat kilometer (RASK) ex-currency was insufficient to offset the rise in the fuel bill, while volatility of the activity remains high. 
On the Americas network traffic rose 6.2% for capacity up by 3.4%. The load factor gained 2.2 points to 84.2%. On North American routes the load factor benefited from co-ordinated capacity reductions between Air France-KLM and its North Atlantic Joint-Venture partners, Delta and Alitalia. Latin America remained dynamic with a stable load factor despite a strong increase in capacity. 
The Asia network recorded a slight decline in traffic of 0.3% for stable capacity (+0.1%). The load factor declined by 0.3 points to 82.8%. Traffic to Japan was 15% lower than last year, but load factor remained stable at a high level. 
Traffic on the Africa and Middle East network declined slightly by 0.5% for capacity down 2.3%, leading to a 1.3 point increase in load factor to 77.0%. The Ivory Coast saw a strong recovery relative to last year, but traffic to Egypt, Syria and Tunisia remained well down. 
On the Caribbean and Indian Ocean network, traffic was slightly up (+0.3%) for capacity up 1.2%. The load factor declined 0.7 points to 83,1%. 
The European network recorded a 4.3% rise in capacity mainly linked to the launch of the Marseille base. With traffic up by 3.6%, the load factor declined 0.5 points to 70.1%. 
  
Cargo business 

Cargo traffic declined by 8.1% for capacity down 2.3%. Despite the reduction in full freighter capacity of 6.9%, the load factor fell 4.3 points to 68.2%. Unit revenue per available tonne kilometre (RATK) ex-currency declined relative to November 2010. 

  
Recent developments 

November marked the beginning of the Winter season which saw several route openings: KLM inaugurated flights to Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Havana and Punta Cana, while Air France commenced flights to Cape Town. 
The deployment of the Airbus A380 continues: this Winter it will be switched from Tokyo to Dubai.  As of 28th May 2012, Los Angeles will become the next route to be served, at which point Air France will operate eight A380s to Los Angeles, New York, Montreal, Washington, Johannes­burg and Tokyo. 
The Group continues to develop in China. It announced its ninth destination in Greater China, Wuhan, effective from April 2012. Air France also became the first European airline company to be represented by a Chinese mentor, Miss Zhu Yan, principal dancer of the Chinese National Ballet. Finally SkyTeam will welcome Xiamen Airlines, China’s fifth largest airline by the end of 2012.