KLM posts higher profit but announces fresh cuts
The airline earned €458 million in the third quarter and wants to improve annual results structurally by €1 billion.
Follow-up to: KLM to reorganise almost 5,000 jobs Thursday, 5 November 2026, 08:43
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KLM recorded higher operating profit in the third quarter than a year earlier, but still considers its financial position inadequate. The company is therefore announcing measures under which around 4,000 roles will be outsourced and approximately 1,000 jobs will disappear.
KLM reported operating profit of €458 million for the third quarter of 2026. That is €106 million more than in the same period of 2025, when profit stood at €352 million. According to KLM, the increase was mainly due to higher ticket revenue and cost savings.
Over the first nine months of the year, operating profit came to €526 million, compared with €328 million a year earlier. Revenue rose by more than 9 per cent to €10.9 billion and capacity increased by 4.3 per cent. These are nominal company figures: they do not directly show how much profit per passenger or per employee has improved.
KLM nevertheless says the figures are insufficient to fund the necessary investments in aircraft, staff and services. The company wants to improve its annual result structurally by €1 billion. According to Reuters, around 4,000 roles will be outsourced to partners, while approximately 1,000 roles will disappear. Reuters says this amounts to a further reduction in staff numbers of nearly 15 per cent over several years.
The improvement in profit is not uniform. Passenger operations benefited from higher revenues, while flight cancellations to and from the Middle East and higher fuel costs weighed on the result. KLM describes Cargo's performance as strong and says Transavia remained under pressure from intense competition on holiday routes, high fuel costs and operational problems.
KLM says fuel prices and an overly high cost base are limiting its financial room for manoeuvre. The company says it wants to raise its profit margin to above 8 per cent in order to become financially healthier. According to KLM, the figures have been made comparable after it applied IFRS 18 early in its half-year results; the comparative figures for 2025 were adjusted for this purpose.
For employees, the plan means fresh uncertainty on top of the previously announced restructuring. For travellers, a financially stronger company could have more scope to renew its fleet, but the figures published today also show that revenue growth and higher ticket income have not yet resolved the underlying problems.
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Both sides of the figures
▲ Bright spots
- Operating profit over the first nine months rose from €328 million to €526 million, according to KLM.
- Revenue rose by more than 9 per cent to €10.9 billion.
▼ Concerns
- KLM says profitability remains too low to fully finance necessary investments.
- Higher fuel costs and operational problems at Transavia are weighing on the result.
Critical note
These are company results, not a measure of the Dutch economy or purchasing power. The revenue and profit figures are nominal company figures; KLM also says that the comparative figures for 2025 were adjusted following the early application of IFRS 18.
Who notices what
- Workers
- Around 4,000 roles will be outsourced and approximately 1,000 jobs cut, according to Reuters.
- Businesses
- Suppliers may receive additional work, while outsourcing could help KLM reduce costs structurally.
- Households
- The figures provide no direct indication of ticket prices, but cost and capacity decisions could affect supply.
- Investors
- Air France-KLM shares rose by approximately 13 per cent after the results, according to Reuters.
Every point comes from the article’s sources and was included in the fact check.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The financial figures and the qualifications come from KLM's primary publication. Reuters confirmed the scale and direction of the restructuring.
- confirmed KLM recorded operating profit of €458 million in the third quarter. — KLM gives this figure in its quarterly publication. source
- confirmed Profit over the first nine months was €526 million, compared with €328 million a year earlier. — KLM reports both figures. source
- confirmed Around 4,000 roles will be outsourced and approximately 1,000 will disappear. — Reuters reports these proposed measures. source
Editor's note
The figures come from KLM's quarterly publication, while Reuters additionally reported the staffing measures. KLM uses adjusted operating-profit figures and adjusted the comparative figures for 2025 for IFRS 18.Sources
The story so far
- Thursday, 5 November 2026, 08:43 KLM to reorganise almost 5,000 jobs
- Thursday, 5 November 2026, 12:43 KLM posts higher profit but announces fresh cuts (this article)
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