Paris - Air France-KLM Group said passenger traffic and average fares both fell in January amid softer demand on routes to emerging markets.
Group-wide traffic - passengers times the distance flown - fell 0.1 percent, paced by a 5.4 percent drop on flights to Africa and the Middle East. Unit revenue, which reflects fares, was also down, Air France-KLM said without giving figures.
Shares of the Paris-based group fell as much as 1.9 percent and were trading 13.1 cents, or 1.8 percent, lower at 7.26 euros as of 8.10am in the French capital.
Management will meet with labour leaders from the main Air France unit on February 13 to discuss cost-reduction measures as the company struggles to bring expenses into line with peers. First-quarter earnings figures are due to be reported on February 19.
January traffic also fell 1.7 percent on flights to Asia, with the group-wide number buoyed by the low-cost Transavia unit in Europe, which reaped an 8.1 percent increase.
Performance in North America was “resilient” with a 1.8 percent traffic gain, the company said, though that fell short of a 2.5 percent rise in capacity so that occupancy levels fell.
During the same month, British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group SA boosted traffic 5.5 percent.
Bloomberg