Air France-KLM SWOT: more boldness needed to develop partnerships and to grow Transavia

Air France-KLM's 6M2015 passenger traffic figures indicate RPK growth of just 0.7% for the group, compared with 5.8% for IAG and 3.6% for the Lufthansa Group. With a passenger load factor of 84.2% for the period, Air France-KLM is filling more of its seats than IAG (79.3%) and the Lufthansa Group (78.3%). Its capacity discipline is welcome, but has been forced on it by successive losses.

Moreover, its poor financial track record highlights the challenges faced by Air France-KLM in making a profit from these seats - and cost cutting remains a priority. Key to this is labour productivity improvement. A recent agreement signed by KLM pilots is a positive step in this regard, by contrast with ongoing deadlock between Air France and its pilot union.

In this report, we consider Air France-KLM's main strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

We suggest that Air France-KLM should be more positive in developing commercial relationships with Etihad and Chinese partner airlines and more aggressive with the growth of its LCC subsidiary Transavia (if pilots allow it).