Air France-KLM has warned that its sales are “experiencing pressure” due to the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, as international markets show “significant avoidance” of the French capital this summer.
The company said that traffic to and from Paris for Air France and sister carrier Transavia France was “lagging behind” other major European cities this summer.
“Travel between the city and other destinations is also below the usual June-August average as residents in France seem to be postponing their holidays until after the Olympic Games or considering alternative travel plans,” added Air France-KLM in a statement.
Air France-KLM said this drop in demand is likely to reduce previously forecast revenue by between €160 million and €180 million for the three months from June to August. Although the group said it was not planning to change capacity plans “at this stage”.
Paris will host the Olympics from 26 July to 11 August, followed by the Paralympics from 28 August to 8 September. Air France is an official partner of both events.
“Travel to and from France is expected to normalise after the Olympic Games, with encouraging demand levels projected for the end of August and the month of September,” added the airline.
In a separate move, Air France-KLM has announced an increase in its surcharge on GDS EDIFACT bookings, which goes up from €21 to €24 per flight from 1 July.
Currently this fee only applies to leisure travel agencies after the airline group again postponed the introduction of the GDS surcharge for business travel agencies from 1 July 2024 to 1 January 2025. This was the fourth time that Air France-KLM has postponed implementation of the EDIFACT surcharge on corporate agencies.
“Since the implementation in April 2018, Air France and KLM indicated that the level of the distribution surcharge would be regularly reassessed and could change in the future,” said the group in a statement.
“The revaluation is necessary because the cost difference has increased since the introduction of the distribution surcharge.”