The CEO of Air France-KLM said that the airline will be lowering economy class fares, as it experiences slight softness on transatlantic routes in these cabins.
Talking to Bloomberg TV, Ben Smith stated that despite this softness in the airline’s main cabin, premium cabins are experiencing “relative stability”.
“There is nothing as of today that is causing a shift in our capacity,” stated Smith, but noted that this is “unchartered territory” for the airline, and that it is watching demand “very very closely”.
Shares in European airline groups plunged after US President Donald Trump revealed on April 2, 2025, that his "reciprocal" tariff plan included 20% tariffs on European Union products such as Airbus planes.
Smith also told Bloomberg that the French airline is “not counting” on growing its capacity significantly.
“We have a lot of planes on order to replace aircraft in our fleet,” said Smith. “If we have to take some further delays on those, we will maintain our older airplanes longer.”