Will international tourists shun Paris during the Olympic Games? That is the fear of Air France-KLM, which has warned that its revenues will suffer.
The airline has noted “significant avoidance behavior” of the French capital by international customers. “As a result, Air France-KLM anticipates at this stage a negative impact on its unit revenues of between 160 and 180 million euros for the period from June to August”, in the middle of high season, said the Franco-Dutch group. in a press release.
Traffic to and from Paris “lower” than expected
This “pressure on unit revenues”, noted by both Air France and the group’s low-cost airline, Transavia, is “attributable to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Traffic to and from the French capital is lower than that expected to and from other major European cities”, according to the same source.
In addition to “a significant avoidance of Paris” by foreign travelers, Air France-KLM notes that “the volumes of trips departing from Paris to other destinations are also lower than the usual average for the June-August period.”
For the group, “French residents appear to be postponing their vacations until after the Olympics or considering alternative travel options.” Despite this warning on results, Air France-KLM assures that “this event has at this stage no impact on the group’s outlook in terms of capacity [nombre de sièges à la disposition de sa clientèle] ».
