KLM PROFIT FALLS 24 PERCENT
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines reported a 24.4 percent drop in net income to
456 million Dutch guilders ($221 million) for the fiscal year ending March
31.
KLM said the impact of Asia’s financial crisis, increased competition on
European and North Atlantic routes and a September 1998 pilot strike at
Northwest Airlines led to the decline.
Turnover at the airline fell slightly to NLG 13.33 billion from NLG
13.36 billion. Total traffic increased just 1 percent while capacity rose 4
percent, leading to a 2.7 percentage point decline in load factor to 75.1
percent.
Cargo revenue for the year fell 3.1 percent to NLG 1.9 billion, while
cargo load factor decreased from 71.4 percent to 67.3 percent.