Hike in price of Jet A1 erodes post Covid-19 global aviation recovery -KLM

… says firm lost 80% of revenue to Covid-19

Abiola Seun

Dutch Airline, Air France-KLM, over the weekend, said the gains recorded in the global aviation sector growth, after the Covid-19 pandemic, has being eroded by the hike in Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) also known as Jet A1, occasioned by the Russia-Ukraine war.

Speaking at a press conference to celebrate the 75 years of Flying from Nigeria, the Executive Vice-President, commercial division, Air France-KLM, Pieter Bootsma, said the airline lost about 70 to 80 percent of it’s over $19billion revenue to global pandemic, COVID-19, in the last two years.

Bootsma, said the Covid-19 crisis was deep for the aviation sector, saying Africa and indeed, Nigeria has stood strong throughout the crisis.

According to him, “Africa has been the best part of the network during the crisis and we are very happy to rebuild our Africa network right now”

He said, “The crisis has been deep for the airline industry, after Covid-19 has hit the world, it has been an extremely difficult time for us.

“We have lost 70 to 80 percent of our revenue, we have $19billion revenue in a year from the passenger side and if one loses 80 percent of that, it’s immense of what is happening.

“Africa has stood strong throughout the crisis. Africa has been the best part of the network during the crisis and we are very happy to rebuild our Africa network right now.

“We are on our ways of recovery and we see bookings coming back, luckily we are looking anxiously everyday to the number of customers that are booking on our flights worldwide, we see that the level of booking and reservation is now above 2019.”

He, however, stated that the Russia-Ukraine crisis has led to the hike in the cost of Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK), saying the gain made through aviation recovery has been eroded by hike in Jet A1.

“We really see that this is the time for growth recovery. We are not out of the trouble yet, the unfortunate war between Russia and Ukraine, has made oil prices increase and we know about it and this is another hit for the airline industry.

” Our cost of doing business has increased tremendously in the last few weeks and why we are joyous about the recovery on the revenue side, we get a big hit on the cost side.”

“So, 2022 will remain despite the recovery of the industry a very difficult year and we are extremely grateful to the Dutch and French government who got us through this crisis but, not only the government, but people and customers who will be supporting us, the Nigerian government who have been helping us to rebuild our business we are grateful.

Also speaking, the Country Manager, Air France-KLM, Nigeria, Christine Quantin, also corroborated Bootma, saying in the past months, KLM has seen tremendous demand for air travel increasing as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted in the Netherlands and other EU countries.

She stated that KLM has responded by expanding capacity on European routes by 10% ,saying KLM also expects business travel to return.

‘‘In the past months, we’ve seen demand for air travel increasing as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted in the Netherlands and other EU countries. KLM has responded by expanding capacity on European routes by 10% compared to last year, almost matching the 2019 pre-pandemic level.

“KLM also expects business travel to return. As a brand, KLM will continue to contribute to Nigeria’s economy through sustainable efforts.

“At KLM, our aim has always been to move our customer’s world through creating memorable experiences, a vision we strive to embody in all aspects of our business, including how we operate.

“For these 75 years, we’ve connected worlds for business for love and friendships.

“From global instabilities to changing economic conditions, KLM has successfully navigated the evolving landscape and we’ve also been able to maintain our operations from Nigeria.

” Now more than ever, after the two years that saw our operations interrupted due to the pandemic, we are more committed to the great country of Nigeria, committed to continue connecting Nigeria to the rest of the world for many more decades to come,” said Christine Quantin said.