Air France-KLM Gives Glum Outlook on Passenger Traffic
September 20 2016 - 3:40PM
Dow Jones News
PARIS—Air France-KLM expects long-haul passenger traffic to
Paris to keep falling during the last quarter of the year as fears
of terror attacks keep tourists away.
The number of long-haul passengers flown to and from France by
Air France-KLM will likely decline between 5% and 10% in the fourth
quarter, Chief Executive Jean-Marc Janaillac said Tuesday.
The number of passengers to France, particularly from the U.S.,
Japan, China and South Korea, had fallen by 14% in July and
August.
France's tourism industry, one of the world's largest, has been
severely hit since late 2015 as travelers stayed away following
terror attacks that have killed more than 200 people since
November. A wide range of companies and institutions, including
AccorHotels and major museums in Paris, have already reported lower
attendance during the summer.
Overall, Air France-KLM has managed to keep raising the number
of passengers during the summer, thanks to the development of its
budget airline, Transavia, and demand for other destinations. The
group's overall passenger traffic rose 2.9% in July and 1.9% in
August.
Air France-KLM's predicament in its home market comes as the
industry's outlook has become less rosy. Many European airlines,
buoyed by low oil prices, are adding capacity to a market already
fully supplied.
"The airline industry is doing what it usually does and is
adding too much capacity at the wrong time," HSBC said research in
a report.
Air France-KLM also faces rising competition from Gulf carriers,
which are growing their share of the lucrative long-haul Asian
market. Meanwhile, low-cost carriers such as Norwegian Air Shuttle
are making forays into the long-haul market.
Unlike 15 years ago, when legacy airlines didn't consider
low-cost airlines a threat, Air France-KLM is now working on a
response to long-haul budget carriers, though Mr. Janaillac
declined elaborate.
Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 20, 2016 15:25 ET (19:25 GMT)
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