Air France-KLM is firming up a plan to raise funds by May of next year after agreeing a rescue package from the Dutch and French governments to help outlast the global aviation crisis. The carrier “intends to implement measures to strengthen its equity and quasi-equity,” Air France-KLM said Tuesday, reiterating a timeline given previously by CEO Ben Smith. To lower financing costs, it’s redeeming E403.3m in notes. Air France-KLM, in which the two European states own a combined 28% stake, posted a record quarterly loss in July and is predicting “significantly negative” earnings in the second half. With passenger capacity not expected to recover until 2024, it is phasing out larger Airbus SE A380 and A340 jets. At the end of June, Air France-KLM had E14.2b of liquidity and credit lines at its disposal, including 10.4 billion euros in government loans and guarantees. The bailout offered a lifeline for the carrier, which ranks second in Europe after Lufthansa in terms of passenger traffic. Air France-KLM “has some time, but right now not many options for fundraising,” said Yan Derocles, a Paris-based analyst at Oddo BHF. For the carrier to keep to a business plan set out in July, it will need to raise as much as E4b by around the start of 2022, he said.<br/>