Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith indicated the struggling airline could seek a further recapitalization later this year even after the latest E4b rescue from the French government that includes the sale of new shares. “We do have heavy, heavy debt that is holding back our balance sheet,” the CEO said Monday at the virtually held World Aviation Festival conference. “This may have to get looked at later in the year.” Smith raised the possibility of another operation to bolster the carrier’s balance sheet at a time when uncertainty is weighing on the rebound in air travel in Europe. While some countries are lifting lockdown measures, the vaccine rollout has been slow and the reopening of shops and restaurants hasn’t necessarily led to relaxing border controls and quarantine requirements. The airline said earlier this month that the latest support by France was only a “first step” in repairing its balance sheet, while Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire also left the door open for more support.<br/>
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Air France-KLM group CE Ben Smith believes the flexibility union agreements have given it to develop low-cost unit Transavia at Paris Orly provides the group with a tool to help offset the loss of slots at the airport. Group carrier Air France is releasing 18 daily slots Paris Orly as one of the conditions for the European Commission’s recent approval of a French government E4b bailout. Smith said it was very frustrating to give up the Orly slots as it is already challenging enough for airlines to recover from the coronavirus. “We are a global carrier, so it is very difficult to align around these conditions. But they are what they are, and we are fortunate we operate from two [Paris] airports,” Smith says. “Eighteen slots, nine round trips, yes it’s tough. But we are in the middle of a major transformation at Orly,” he says, pointing to action taken to tackle losses of over E200m in the French domestic market. “Even before the crisis, we were in big transformation.” That transformation includes replacing higher cost regional operations at Orly with low-cost unit Transavia, following labour agreements brokered with pilots. Smith notes this has enabled a doubling of Transavia’s operations at Orly.<br/>
An Australian court ordered Garuda Indonesia to pay a fine of A$19m in relation to a price-fixing case after Indonesia's flag carrier dropped an appeal against the penalty levied two years ago, a regulator said on Tuesday. The Federal Court asked Garuda to pay the sum after the airline withdrew its appeal against the May 2019 judgement which found it had fixed fees and surcharges for air freight services between 2003 and 2006, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) said. "We will also continue to closely watch for any signs of anti-competitive conduct in the airline industry specifically following the disruption to travel due to COVID-19," the ACCC said. The Federal Court ordered Garuda to pay the penalty in monthly installments between December 2021 and December 2026, it said.<br/>