Air France’s CEO speaks about the pick up in flight traffic

Let’s be honest.  Trying to predict when air travel will recover is a mug’s game at the moment.

Even if you can predict flight volumes, it doesn’t help predict when you can travel.  No-one knows what different countries will put in place about quarantine restrictions, vaccination certificates etc.

In Europe, President Macron is pushing for EU borders to remain closed until the end of September which would have a devastating effect on places which rely heavily on North American and Asian visitors.

The UK, for clarity, is still part of the single travel area until 30th December.  If Europe does close its doors until the end of September, it does not stop UK residents flying to the continent.

For what it’s worth, however, Ben Smith, the CEO of Air France KLM, had his thoughts published in La Tribune.  These comments are taken from an internal video call to Air France KLM pilots.

Smith is currently predicting that he will operate:

• June – 20% of usual capacity
• July – 40% of usual capacity
• August – 60% of usual capacity
• September to December – 75% of usual capacity

He is expecting no return to 2019 capacity levels until 2022.

‘Capacity’ in this case refers to seat kilometres flown, not aircraft movements.  Restoring long-haul flights is therefore key to hitting these targets.

Air France KLM is currently losing €25 million per day.  Luckily for Smith, President Macron has promised to shower him with all the money he needs – the issue is that Smith doesn’t want it if it means nationalisation.

His preference is for a 90% Government guarantee for a bank-led bailout.  This means that, for example, private sector losses on a €1 billion loan would be limited to just €100 million in the worst case scenario.

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How to earn Flying Blue miles from UK credit cards (March 2025)

Air France and KLM do not have a UK Flying Blue credit card.  However, you can earn Flying Blue miles by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.

These cards earn Membership Rewards points:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 20,000 Flying Blue miles. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with four free airport lounge passes.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 50,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 50,000 Flying Blue miles

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

• American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 10,000 Flying Blue miles. This card is FREE for life.

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:1 into Flying Blue miles which is an attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 1 Flying Blue mile.

The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card earns double points (2 per £1) on all flights you charge to it, not just with Air France and KLM but with any airline.