Air France-KLM to boost capacity for winter season

Air France-KLM plans a substantial boost in capacity over the upcoming winter season. The Franco-Dutch group will increase capacity 5.5% compared to the same period a year ago, launching 52 new services. The group said the growth will be driven by its long-haul passenger network (+ 4.7%), the medium- and short-haul network (+ 5.5%) and, significantly, its low-cost operations operated by subsidiary Transavia (+14.6%). Both carriers are operating in a European environment increasingly contested by LCCs such as Ryanair, Norwegian, easyJet and Wizz Air, which are close to accounting for an increasingly large percentage of European traffic. The forthcoming season sees the Franco-Dutch carriers responding. “With an increase in capacity of 5.5% this winter, Air France-KLM is resuming the offensive in the air transport market and is maintaining its growth commitments,” Air France-KLM chairman and CEO Jean-Marc Janaillac said. On the group’s long-haul network , the carriers will operate 10 new services this winter, mainly to warm-weather leisure destinations such as Cartagena (Colombia) and Mauritius.<br/>