Air France-KLM warns of revenue pressure from Paris Olympics

(Sharecast News) - Air France-KLM Group warned of revenue pressure over the summer on Monday, as a direct result of the Paris Olympic Games. The CAC Next 20 company said its Air France subsidiary, as well as the 95.5%-owned Transavia France, reported that traffic to and from the French capital was lagging behind other major European cities, as international travellers show a notable avoidance of Paris.

It said the typically busy travel period between June and August was seeing below-average bookings, with many French residents delaying their vacations until after the Olympics, or opting for alternative travel plans.

That shift had led Air France-KLM to estimate a negative impact on unit revenues ranging from €160m to €180m for the period.

"This event has no impact on our guided capacity at this stage," the company said in its statement, adding that it would provide more details during its half year results on 25 July.

The company anticipated that travel demand to and from France would normalise after the Olympic Games, with a positive outlook for the end of August and September.

It also noted that the trend mirrored findings from the Paris tourism board's June 'Baromètre du tourisme parisien', which noted similar patterns in hotel bookings.

At 1111 CEST (1011 BST), shares in Air France-KLM were down 2.84% at €7.99.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.