Air France–KLM will axe loss-making routes, trim winter-season capacity and accelerate cost-cutting measures as the airline announced second quarter losses.
The group reported a loss of €79 million compared to a €14 million loss a year earlier. This is despite a 3 per cent growth in sales to €6.64 billion.
CEO Alexandre De Juniac said the first half of this year saw "exceptional volatility in exchange rates and the fuel price, and by ongoing pressure on unit revenues".
Earlier this year, Air France-KLM said it was accelerating cost-cutting measures and today announced it has stuck to its outlook with net debt falling €1 billion over the past 12 months to €4.4 billion.
The group said it would increase capacity just 0.6 per cent over the year, compared with a rise of 1.1 per cent predicted earlier this year.
De Juniac said: "The lack of results improvement leads us to implement immediate additional adaptation measures including, in particular, the closure of heavily loss-making routes, the downward revision in capacity for the forthcoming winter season, together with acceleration and an increase in the magnitude of our cost-saving initiatives."
He also called on Air France-KLM pilots to reach a productivity agreement by the end of September, otherwise even more routes will need to be slashed.