Air France-KLM chief says KLM must reach 8% profit margin
Benjamin Smith says KLM must achieve an 8 per cent profit margin. The airline’s margin was below 5 per cent in the first nine months of the year, as it announced cost cuts and plans to reduce its workforce by 5,000.
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Air France-KLM chief executive Benjamin Smith says KLM must reach an 8 per cent profit margin, putting further pressure on the Dutch airline as it tackles costs and plans to cut 5,000 jobs.
KLM’s margin was below 5 per cent in the first nine months of the year, according to ANP. The airline announced cost-saving measures on Thursday, including dropping some aircraft and seeking to limit wage increases.
“If we can’t get KLM to 8 per cent, we will have to look at another way of doing it,” Smith told journalists. He added that the group would keep adapting its strategy if it believed KLM would miss the target.
Smith also pointed to the Dutch government’s aviation tax and charges at Amsterdam Schiphol airport, saying both were the highest in Europe.
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