Air France-KLM presents its go forward plan to recapture a leadership position in Europe

Today, in Paris, Air France-KLM organized a presentation for investors. On this occasion, Benjamin Smith, Air France-KLM CEO, along with Pieter Elbers, KLM President and CEO, Anne Rigail, Air France CEO, and Frederic Gagey, Air France-KLM CFO, outlined the group’s strategic priorities and its financial trajectory over the next five years.

Headlines

• Restore a dynamic of sustainable profitability based on a new value-focused model for the group’s primary stakeholders: employees, customers, and shareholders.
• A plan built around four main strategic priorities: optimising the operational model, refocusing passenger revenue growth around the most profitable segments, developing initiatives on customer data, the Flying Blue loyalty program, maintenance and cargo, and pragmatically analyzing consolidation opportunities. Each of these initiatives support the group’s goal to remain a leader in the sector’s ecological transition.
• Financial targets:
  * Profit: Medium-term operating margin of 7-8%
  * Cash: Medium-term positive adjusted Free Cash Flows
  * Leverage: Net debt/EBITDA ratio circa 1.5x
  * Shareholder returns: Prospects for returning to dividend distribution

Go-forward plan

“In a competitive and fast-transforming environment for European airlines, the Air France-KLM Group has all the assets to regain its leadership position”, said Benjamin Smith, CEO of the Air France-KLM Group.

“Thanks to the dedication of our employees at Air France, KLM and Transavia, since the end of 2018 we have been able to establish the fundamentals of our go forward plan: simplifying our fleet, clarifying our brand and market positioning, and unlocking significant commercial and operational flexibility thanks to new labour agreements. This is the starting point of a strategy that will allow Air France-KLM to reinvent itself, creating value for all key stakeholders. We will optimize our operational model and increase revenues to significantly improve our operating margin. Everything we do will support our goal of remaining an industry pioneer as the airline group most committed to global environmental sustainability.”

Press release: download for full details.