KLM Group made an adjusted operating profit of EUR 458 million in the third quarter of 2026, EUR 106 million more than a year earlier1. Alongside the results, KLM said the number of positions at the airline will fall by a further almost 15%2. Approximately 5,000 positions have been or will be reorganised, with the work carried out differently2. Approximately 1,000 of those 5,000 will disappear through higher productivity; the rest is work carried out in partnership with gategroup, by external providers or within Air France-KLM2. Over the first nine months the margin was 4.8%, against KLM's target of more than 8%31.

The 5,000 include 1,250 positions at KLM Catering Services, an estimated 800 in Ground Services and 2,000 moving to Air France-KLM, 1,500 of them at Cygnific, the customer contact centre2. KLM gives no breakdown of the 1,000 positions lost through productivity and no figures for cockpit or cabin crew, but says it has largely resolved its shortage of pilots and maintenance staff2. Revenue rose 11.7% to EUR 4,011 million in the quarter and the operating margin reached 11.4%3.

KLM's third quarter in figures

Since its 2026 half-year results, KLM Group has reported under IFRS 18, so operating profit is now called adjusted operating profit and the 2025 figures have been restated1. Third-quarter 2025 revenue is taken from last year's results presentation4. Passengers, seat kilometres and load factor in the table cover the KLM network excluding Transavia; capacity for KLM Group as a whole rose 3.4% in the quarter5.

The figures in this table come from KLM and Air France-KLM134. KLM Group revenue for the first nine months rose 9.4% to EUR 10,865 million, with network capacity up 4.3%3. The KLM and Air France-KLM releases do not give a net result for KLM Group for the quarter13.

Passenger and cargo revenue helped offset a 29.5% higher fuel bill

According to Air France-KLM, strong revenue growth in KLM's passenger and cargo businesses helped offset higher fuel costs3. KLM's fuel bill rose 29.5% to EUR 842 million in the quarter. Unit costs fell, mainly because of better fleet utilisation and significantly lower wet-lease costs, despite a modest rise in maintenance costs3. Staff costs rose 2.7% to EUR 1,038 million; Air France-KLM says productivity gains under the Back on Track programme helped contain higher labour costs3. KLM says Back on Track has delivered EUR 750 million so far1.

Over the first nine months, flight cancellations to and from the Middle East and higher fuel costs weighed on KLM's passenger results, while cargo performed strongly1. KLM's cargo traffic grew 15.7% and its cargo load factor rose 5.2 points to 53.9%3. At group level, Air France-KLM links cargo growth to shippers moving goods from sea to air because of disruption around the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz3. KLM's East African performance was hit by the Ebola outbreak3.

"The third quarter is traditionally our strongest. It's the time of year when we generate most of our earnings. But even under highly favorable market conditions, with strong ticket revenue and the benefits of Back on Track, our profit margin remains too low", said chief financial officer Bas Brouns. "We need to increase it to more than 8% to secure a financially healthy future for KLM."1

How KLM compares with Air France, Lufthansa and IAG

The Air France-KLM figures come from its third-quarter release3; the Lufthansa Group figures are Adjusted EBIT from its third-quarter release and interim report67. Air France's margin fell 0.7 points, while KLM's rose 1.6 points3. Lufthansa Group's margin slipped from 11.9% to 11.5%, and its network airlines made EUR 853 million, EUR 108 million less than a year earlier6. In the third quarter, Lufthansa Airlines was also burdened by about EUR 65 million in costs from strikes in the first half of the year6.

IAG, the parent of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling, will publish its third-quarter results on 6 November8. In the first half of 2026 it made an operating profit before exceptional items of EUR 1,757 million, a margin of 10.9%, and it expects a full-year margin within its 12% to 15% target range9. It now expects 2026 capacity to be flat compared with 20259.

KLM's fleet decisions and pilot recruitment

KLM will phase out the Boeing 737 and the Embraer E190 over the coming years. The A321neo stays, but smaller Embraer E195-E2s will replace the A320s KLM had planned, giving KLM Cityhopper a bigger role2. At 30 September, KLM, including Cityhopper and Martinair, had 186 aircraft, among them 38 Boeing 737s, 17 A321neos, 25 E195-E2s, 16 E190s and 17 E175s3. On long-haul routes, KLM's first Airbus A350-900 entered passenger service on 30 October, flying to Toronto10.

Air France-KLM kept recruitment of non-operational staff paused in the quarter3. For 2026 the group expects capacity to grow about 2%: about 2% more on long haul, about 1% less on short and medium haul in the Air France-KLM network, and about 8% more at Transavia3. KLM says there is no point applying when there is no open vacancy for airline pilots11. Experienced pilots need, among other things, at least 500 hours on a multi-engine aircraft of 5,700 kg or more11. Our report on KLM's job cuts covers the vacancies and the reductions in more detail.

By 2028 KLM wants a structural productivity increase of at least 8%, combined with very moderate wage growth, and it is seeking new collective labour agreements with the unions2. The collective labour agreement for KLM cabin crew runs until 28 February 202712; in June, the pilots' union VNV said KLM and the unions had reached a new deal for pilots, subject to approval by union members13. On 20 October, Transavia Netherlands' fleet consisted of 20 Airbus A321neos and 33 Boeing 737s14; both Transavia Netherlands and Transavia France are moving from the 737 to the A320neo family3.

For cadets, see the KLM Flight Academy profile and KLM Flight Academy selection practice. For the regional airline, see KLM Cityhopper selection practice; for the main airline, the KLM profile and what a pilot earns at KLM.

Lufthansa has fewer staff, British Airways keeps funding cadets

Lufthansa Group had 101,979 employees on 30 September, 2% fewer than a year earlier7. The group has removed all of Lufthansa CityLine's operational aircraft from its flight schedule and started further capacity cuts, such as retiring old aircraft types7. Its Lufthansa Airlines turnaround programme aims for a gross earnings improvement of around EUR 1.5 billion in 2026 and around EUR 2.5 billion in total by 20287. See the Lufthansa profile.

In April, British Airways opened applications for its Speedbird Pilot Academy for the fourth year running: it is investing GBP 18 million to fund up to 160 places, covering the GBP 100,000 cost of training and guaranteeing successful candidates a flying role on completion15. Almost 50 pilots have come through the scheme so far15. See the Speedbird Pilot Academy profile and our report on Wizz Air at Luton.

Boeing still sees replacement demand in Europe

Boeing's latest outlook expects the industry to need 674,000 new pilots worldwide between 2026 and 2045, including 153,000 in Eurasia16. "Replacement demand is especially pronounced among pilots in North America and Europe", Boeing writes16. It also notes that disruption in 2026 prompted "some carriers to adjust recruitment plans for pilots and cabin crew", and expects that to put pressure on recruitment over the next one to two years16. See also our report on the Airbus pilot forecast.

What comes next

Air France-KLM will publish its full-year 2026 results on 25 February 202717. Three days later, the KLM cabin crew agreement expires12. The group has hedged 62% of its fuel for the fourth quarter and 54% for 20273. At Schiphol, new coordination parameters for the morning peak will apply from summer 2027, with a procedure ready in case not all historic slots can be allocated18. KLM says the planned addition of SAS to the group is under review by the European Commission2; see our report on the SAS review and our analysis of the aircraft shortage.