Air France-KLM revenue increased 5.1 percent year over year to 6.43 billion euros in the third quarter as the carrier resolved labor disputes that have hindered its performance significantly.
On Oct. 19, Air France reached an agreement with unions representing its ground staff and cabin crew. The agreement includes a retroactive 2 percent pay increase for this year and another 2 percent increase on Jan. 1, 2019. New CEO Benjamin Smith, who started in his role during the third quarter, said the agreement "brings stability, as well as new perspectives, for our businesses and employees." The carrier still has to reach an agreement with Air France's pilot union, however.
For the third quarter, the group reported strength on its North America and Asia routes, though demand to Brazil and Argentina was weak due to currency depreciation in those countries. Traffic increased 2.4 percent year over year as capacity increased 2 percent, pushing load factor up 0.4 percentage points to 89.5 percent.
Air France-KLM reported an operating result of 810 million euros for the third quarter, up 14 million euros in constant currency compared with the third quarter of 2017.
RELATED: Air France-KLM Q2 earnings