Air France-KLM saw operating profits rise in the last quarter on the back of increased carryings.
Figures for the three months to June 30 show a €54 million improvement in the operating result to €400 million against the same three months last year when Air France was hit by strikes costing €260 million.
Passenger numbers in the three months rose by more than 5% to 27.8 million with an improved load factor of 1.3 percentage points.
Group debt was cut by €466 million to €5.7 billion.
The airline group reported long-haul forward booking load factors from August to December as being ahead of last year.
Network passenger unit revenue at constant currency is expected to be “stable” versus last year for the summer three months.
But the group’s fuel bill is expected to increase by €550 million to €5.5 billion compared with 2018.
CEO Benjamin Smith said: “In a challenging environment, Air France-KLM Group posted a robust second quarter.
“The slight increase in passenger unit revenue that we had anticipated, together with continued execution in unit cost reduction, enabled us to more than offset rising fuel costs.
“These elements, combined with satisfactory long-haul forward booking trends lead us to confirm our guidance for 2019.
“At the same time, we continue to implement our strategic vision focused on reducing costs and making our group more robust in the very competitive marketplace in Europe.”
He added: “We have also made key decisions on the renewal of our fleet to transition to cleaner aircraft in order to support a more environmentally responsible operation, including the order of sixty Airbus A220s for short- and medium-haul and the accelerated phasing out of ten Airbus A380s to be replaced by more modern fuel efficient aircraft.”