Air France-KLM achieved a “solid performance” over the summer with in improvement in quarterly profits.
The group reported a 22% rise in net profits to €786 million in the three months to September 30 and a 4% increase in revenue to €7.5 billion.
Passenger carryings increased by 2.3% to 28.5 million and load factors are expected to keep rising until February, helping offset a fuel bill that rose by a fifth to €1.38 billion for the quarter.
The 2018 fuel bill is expected to increase by €500 million compared to last year. Next year’s fuel bill is expected to increase by €900 million year-on-year.
New CEO Benjamin Smith started last month and has already struck a pay deal with unions to end industrial action that grounded hundreds of flights earlier this year.
But the former Air Canada executive is yet to secure a separate agreement with pilots and is due to start negotiations next week.
Smith said: “Air France-KLM posted a solid performance in the summer quarter 2018, reflecting the commitment of all its staff, its commercial strengths and the attractiveness of its brands.
“The agreement on salaries signed at Air France brings stability as well as new perspectives for our businesses and employees.
“In the coming months, I am confident that we will be able to leverage our group’s strengths and assets to build an ambitious and innovative strategy to ensure the success of our airlines and reposition Air France-KLM as the leader of our industry.”
The group said: “Based on the current outlook and a demand environment that remains positively oriented, we expect passenger network revenues to increase in the fourth quarter 2018, with long-haul forward booking load factors ahead of last year and passenger unit revenues stable at constant currency.”