Air France-KLM reported a big leap in its operating profits for the first half of the financial year.
In the six months up to September 30, the airline said operating income rose by 16.4% from 979m in 2006 to 1.14bn.
For the last three months, operating profits rose by 27.6% from 568m in 2006 to 725m.
AF-KLM said that in this second quarter, net in come rose by 97% to 736m while its operating margin rose 2% to 12%.
The first six months showed a revenue rise of 4.2% to 12.43bn while the operating margin was 10%.
The carrier said that passenger activity during the second quarter was dynamic and driven by long-haul.
It said that the "efficiency of our hedging measures and the decline in the dollar enabled us to
contain the rise in our fuel bill to just 1.8% during the quarter."
Jean-Cyril Spinetta, chairman of Air France-KLM, said: "Robust global growth continues to
underpin demand, especially on long-haul where our strong network remains a major advantage.
"These excellent first half results therefore also reflect ongoing group-wide efforts to contain
costs.
“This ability to control costs remains a key factor as we pursue our global development while respecting our environmental commitments.
"Taking account of dynamic market conditions we confirm our objectives of a further rise in operating income and a return on capital employed of 7% after tax for the full year, up from 6.5% last year. "
Mr Spinetta, speaking before TPG and BA withdrew their bid for Iberia, said his carrier was still considering bids Alitalia and Iberia.
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