Air France-KLM chief executive Ben Smith has identified pilot availability for KLM's newly introduced aircraft types as the largest stumbling block in improving the Dutch carrier's financial performance. "The biggest challenge and, I guess, frustration we have [at KLM] is our inability to get the long-haul capacity levels in place," Smith said during a third-quarter results call on 7 November, adding: "It's taking way too long, and it's not sustainable." Smith says KLM has a "very complex" collective labour agreement (CLA) for pilots, "which does not allow a new aircraft type to integrate well". In August, KLM took delivery of its first Airbus A321neo from an order of up to 160 single-aisles for the network airline and the group's Transavia low-cost division, to replace their fleets of Boeing 737NGs. In the long-haul arena, KLM plans to introduce A350s to replace A330s and 777s. Air France-KLM last year ordered 50 A350s, spanning both the -900 and -1000 variants, and took options on another 40. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2026. Smith insists the airline has sufficient aircraft and pilots, but says that simultaneous integration of the A350 and A320neo-family jets "is not something that the CLA handles in an efficient way", adding: "That's the biggest frustration we have at KLM, getting the capacity in [place] which is the main driver for the unit cost going up." Inflation has put "a lot of pressure" on labour agreements at KLM, says Smith, observing that inflation has been higher in the Netherlands than in France. "The expectations of staff because of the inflation are disproportionately high," he complains. "KLM has not seen that, and that has been a challenge to manage." KLM's third-quarter operating profit was down 27% year on year at €396 million ($428 million). Revenue grew 3.6% to €3.55 billion. The group says KLM's revenue improvement was more than offset by cost increases. It lists a 15% rise in salary costs and a similar increase in other expenses at KLM, while the airline's fuel bill (excluding costs for the EU Emissions Trading System) declined 3.8%. Air France delivered a third-quarter operating profit of €732 million, down 9.2% year on year. The group attributes this decline to a €160 million revenue impact from the Olympic Games in Paris in July and August plus a one-time €50 million payment to staff in relation to that event. The French flag carrier's revenue was up 3.1% at €5.54 billion. Without the impact of the Olympics, Air France improved its third-quarter performance versus 2023, says its parent. Smith recalls that when he joined the group as chief in 2018, Air France "had horrible labour relations, the worst in the world, and a business model that did not work and had no potential future of it working". He adds: "We completely overhauled the business. We got the relationships into a much better spot and Air France unit cost and its revenue production is going in the right direction... We can go a lot further." KLM meanwhile was performing "very well" back when Smith joined, he says, citing a 9% margin, and did "reasonably well" amid the pandemic. But, since then, "we've had an unbelievable number of challenges that were not expected". He references government proposals to reduce Amsterdam Schiphol airport's capacity as having created uncertainty in terms of future fleet size, staff requirements and potential curfews. "To navigate through that has been a big distraction." Ground-operational bottlenecks at Schiphol and inflation are cited by Smith as headwinds outside Air France-KLM's control. These, he complains, have "put big strains on the operations of KLM, and the costs have gone up through the roof, in particular the customer compensation". He describes the task of managing the carrier in the current environment as "very difficult" and acknowledges that the parent group's management resources have hitherto "not been fully focused on KLM", adding: "[That is] something we should have done earlier, and that is what we are going to do going forward, because the big business of KLM is quite solid." Smith is optimistic that KLM's individual issues can be resolved. Following ministerial changes, he says the airline is "in much better territory" in terms of government relations: "We don't have the same level of hostility that we had for a three-, four-year period." A new chief executive at Schiphol's operator, meanwhile, has "finally recognised us as the number-one customer at the airport, and is not going against us". To address in-house challenges, KLM in October disclosed a range of measures aimed at improving its financial performance by €450 million per annum through cost cuts and increased productivity. Dubbed "Back on Track", the programme is intended to simplify the carrier's operations and potentially outsource some activities. Despite the planned changes. which he describes as difficult, Smith is hopeful that KLM's network airline business model does not require an overhaul. While the carrier may need to attract a different customer mix, he says, "there is no requirement to do a structural change as we had to do with Air France".

India's Supreme Court has ordered Jet Airways into liquidation after the successful bidder for the company was found to have failed to meet the conditions of its resolution plan. The court made the order on 7 November after the State Bank of India and other lenders successfully appealed a March 2024 order from the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal that had upheld the transfer of Jet's ownership to the successful bidder, the Jalan Kalrock Consortium (JKC). In a 169-page written judgement, the three judges hearing the case state that the lower court's order was "perverse and unsustainable in law", and "keeping in mind the fact that almost five years have elapsed since the Resolution Plan was duly approved by the NCLAT and there being no progress worth the name, we are left with no other option but to...direct that the corporate debtor be taken in liquidation". JKC is led by UAE-based entrepreneur Murari Lal Jalan and alternate investment manager Kalrock, which is led by Belgian investor Florian Fritsch. The court found that the Consortium had not fulfilled a number of conditions precedent under the resolution plan, and as a result has forfeited Rs2 billion ($ million) how it had infused into Jet, while a further Rs1.5 billion performance bank guarantee will be encashed by its lenders. The court has now ordered the National Company Law Tribunal to appoint a liquidator to the failed airline. "Ensuring that liquidation commences as soon as possible would also be in the best interests of the Corporate Debtor and the creditors including the workmen/employees who are yet to receive their rightful dues," the judgement reads. The airline ceased operations in April 2019 following an intense period of competition in the Indian market.

Gol and parent Abra Group have agreed terms for a plan support agreement in connection with the Brazilian airline's US Chapter 11 bankruptcy-protection cases. Having in January filed for Chapter 11, the airline last month filed a motion with the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York seeking an additional 150 days to file its plan for restructuring. Under terms of the reorganisation plan reached with Abra and certain affiliates and a committee of unsecured creditors, Gol will deleverage itself by converting into equity, or otherwise extinguishing, up to $1.7 billion of its pre-petition funded debt and up to $850 million of other obligations. Additionally, Abra "has asserted $2.8 billion in funded debt claims and has agreed to receive approximately $950 million in new equity and possibly more, based upon the resolution of certain unresolved issues, as well as $850 million of take-back debt," Gol and Abra say. Gol expects to raise up to $1.85 billion of new capital in the form of an exit facility to repay its debtor-in-possession financing facility and provide incremental liquidity to support its operations following its emergence from Chapter 11. "Reaching this agreement is another important step in our efforts to strengthen our financial position and drive Gol’s long-term success," states Gol chief executive Celso Ferrer. Abra Group chief executive Adrian Neuhauser adds: "Gol is slated to emerge from its Chapter 11 process with a dramatically improved liquidity position and a deleveraged balance sheet with a very competitive unit cost and strong network."