AIR FRANCE-KLM has sold half its stake in Amadeus for 467 million euros (US$621 million), and is expected to channel the proceeds towards repaying some of its 6.5-billion euro debt, according to a report by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“Air France-KLM launched the sale of a block of shares representing 7.5 percent of (Amadeus) capital,” a spokesperson from the airline was quoted by AFP as saying.
The joint venture unveiled in January a restructuring plan to bolster its balance sheet within the next two years, which would involve various cost-cutting measures, restructuring of short- and mediumhaul routes, as well as debt reduction.
Meanwhile, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has reported that service capacity to Asia during the upcoming summer season (March 25 – October 28) will be similar to last year. On the other hand, Air France will ramp up its Asia capacity by 6.3 per cent during the period.
Besides maintaining services to destinations introduced over the past two years (Chengdu, Hangzhou and Xiamen), KLM will introduce a direct daily flight to Taipei, with an onward connection to Manila. During the high season (June-September), Hangzhou will be served four-weekly.
In South-East Asia, KLM will operate daily, non-stop flights to Bangkok, which was previously served en route to Taipei. Its services to Denpasar will increase from four-weekly to daily, with a stopover in Singapore.
As for Air France, the carrier will resume its daily Airbus A380 flights to Tokyo (Narita), in addition to a daily Boeing B777-300 service. Capacity to Shanghai will increase through the deployment of the A380 on three of 14 weekly frequencies.
However, Air France will reduce capacity to Hong Kong (12 weekly frequencies), as well as New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai (six weekly frequencies each).
