Not surprisingly, Air France-KLM is taking a cautious approach to 2012: in a press release published this week, the Group announced that "given the uncertainties in the economic environment, growth in the Air France-KLM Group's available seat kilometre (ASK) offer will be limited to +0.6%, including +0.8% on long-haul routes and -0.2% on medium-haul routes excluding provincial bases". Air France-KLM's summer schedule, which will run from 25 March to 28 October 2012, will also be marked by the opening of the new route to Wuhan, the group's fifth Chinese destination, from 11 April, and by stopping flights to Newarkalready announced at the beginning of January. This decision comes against a general backdrop of falling demand from the United States: transatlantic capacity will be significantly reduced (-6.5%), as will capacity to the Middle East (-17.5%), and to a lesser extent to the Caribbean and Indian Ocean (-2.2%). Air France-KLM has logically chosen to opt for buoyant destinations, thanks in particular to business customers, such as Latin America (+9.7%) and Asia (+6.3%).
