Air France-KLM’s adjusted operating profit rose €126 million year on year to €1.346 billion in the third quarter of 2026, exceeding the €1.1 billion analyst consensus, while revenue increased 7.6% to €9.916 billion. On the same day, KLM outlined further structural measures that are expected to remove about 1,000 positions through productivity gains over the coming years, within a broader reorganisation affecting around 5,000 positions through job reductions, outsourcing and transfers.
KLM’s adjusted operating profit increased €106 million to €458 million in the quarter. The airline said its existing Back on Track programme had not delivered enough to meet the group’s target of an operating margin above 8%. Its new measures include changes to the European fleet and reorganisations in Ground Services, Cargo, and Engineering & Maintenance. KLM is targeting productivity gains of at least 8% alongside restrained wage growth, and expects to limit the effect on employees through natural attrition, voluntary arrangements and transfers.
The 5,000-position figure does not represent 5,000 job cuts: it includes work transferred to external providers or elsewhere within Air France-KLM. The approximately 1,000 positions expected to disappear relate specifically to productivity gains over several years.
Higher fuel prices added €436 million to the group’s third-quarter costs after hedging. Air France-KLM raised its 2026 fuel-bill estimate to $9.2 billion from $8.9 billion and narrowed its capacity-growth forecast to about 2%, from a previous range of 2% to 3%.