Business
Air France Puts Cost of Strike, Lost Demand at 500M Euros
An Air France plane is parked on the tarmac at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in Roissy, near Paris, Monday, Sept. 15, 2014. (Christophe Ena/The Canadian Press/AP)
PARIS, Oct 8 (Reuters) – Air France-KLM has put the total cost of last month’s two-week pilots strike at up to 500 million euros ($632 million), enough to wipe more than a fifth off its estimated full-year core profit and sending its shares to a 13-month low.
Europe’s second-biggest network carrier by revenue had already in July revised down its target for 2014 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) from 2.5 billion euros to between 2.2 and 2.3 billion.
At the time, it mainly cited overcapacity on long-haul routes and weak cargo demand. The strike, combined with a warning note on forward demand, have added to its woes.
The Franco-Dutch group said on Wednesday total passenger traffic fell 15.9 percent in September compared with the year before, adding that bookings for the fourth quarter were down by between 1 and 2 percentage points.
