KLM chairman predicts profit for Air France-KLM

Airline Industry Information, Oct 28, 2004

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

Leo van Wijk, the chairman of Dutch airline KLM, has predicted that despite high fuel costs the Air France-KLM alliance will make a profit in its current business year.

Speaking in an interview with the newspaper Die Welt, van Wijk said that Air France-KLM was expecting to announce a profit for the year ending March 2005 despite oil prices rising to USD50 a barrel. In September 2004 when the company announced its first quarter profits it said that as long as oil stayed around USD40 a barrel it should achieve a strong rise in operating profit.

Van Wijk said that Air France-KLM had hedged its fuel well and that it is still currently purchasing at a reasonable price. The chairman admitted that fuel costs were still costing the airline hundreds of millions of euros but said that it was quite well protected, reports AFP.

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