Air France Q3 earnings up 32% as load factor, traffic improve

Air France-KLM enjoyed a strong Q3 with solid air traffic and passenger load factor boosting earnings beyond expectations. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation lifted 32% on a constant currency basis in the 3 months to the end of September to E1.5b, besting an average estimate of E1.4b from economists polled by Bloomberg. Revenue for the period was up 5.1% at E7.2b against the same 3 months in 2016. Load factor was up 1.7% at 89.2% while overall passenger numbers increased 5.4% in the quarter. That helped drive a 42.9% boost in operating income to E1b. The Passenger unit revenue continued to improve in Q3 up 3.7% at constant currency. On long haul, there was a strong premium class performance with unit revenues up by 8.3%, while economy class was up by 3.1%. <br/>