Air France-KLM Chief welcomes coming surge in transatlantic travel

When the Biden administration last week announced it would relax stringent requirements for Europeans to come to the US, it took Air France-KLM Group CEO Ben Smith by surprise. “It was a pleasant shock to get that news,” Smith said Wednesday. The US is Air France-KLM’s largest market, generating 40% of the group’s revenue. Before the pandemic, Air France and KLM together flew 64 flights per day to the US; during the depths of the crisis, that fell to four daily flights, all carrying cargo. “We are still far away from our peak,” he said. But it wasn’t unqualified good news for Smith. “We were hoping this type of announcement would come out earlier in the summer,” he said. The worry in Paris was that the European travel ban would extend into fall and possibly next year, resulting in another lost summer. Political considerations were a factor too, Smith said, with the worry that the US midterm Congressional elections in 2022 could cause further delays, Smith said. It’s still too soon to say if bookings have increased as a result of the US border reopening, but Smith is hopeful that the yearend holidays will be strong for the group. Next summer could see a surge in travel. Air France bookings to Greece in August surpassed 2019 levels, he said, and this could augur well for transatlantic demand next year. “There is a huge pent-up demand for travel to places that are open,” Smith said. But whether that surge is sustainable in the near- to medium-term is “unclear,” he said.<br/>