Air France-KLM has warned that its sales are ¡°experiencing pressure¡± due to the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, as international markets show ¡°significant avoidance¡± of the French capital this summer.
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The company said that traffic to and from Paris for Air France and sister carrier Transavia France was ¡°lagging behind¡± other major European cities this summer.
¡°Travel between the city and other destinations is also below the usual June-August average as residents in France seem to be postponing their holidays until after the Olympic Games or considering alternative travel plans,¡± added Air France-KLM in a statement.
Air France-KLM said this drop in demand is likely to reduce previously forecast revenue by between €160 million and €180 million for the three months from June to August. Although the group said it was not planning to change capacity plans ¡°at this stage¡±.
Paris will host the Olympics from 26 July to 11 August, followed by the Paralympics from 28 August to 8 September. Air France is an official partner of both events.
¡°Travel to and from France is expected to normalise after the Olympic Games, with encouraging demand levels projected for the end of August and the month of September,¡± added the airline.
In a separate move, Air France-KLM has announced an increase in its surcharge on GDS EDIFACT bookings, which goes up from €21 to €24 per flight from 1 July.
Currently this fee only applies to leisure travel agencies after the airline group again postponed the introduction of the GDS surcharge for business travel agencies from 1 July 2024 to 1 January 2025. This was the fourth time that Air France-KLM has postponed implementation of the EDIFACT surcharge on corporate agencies.
¡°Since the implementation in April 2018, Air France and KLM indicated that the level of the distribution surcharge would be regularly reassessed and could change in the future,¡± said the group in a statement.
¡°The revaluation is necessary because the cost difference has increased since the introduction of the distribution surcharge.¡±