KLM CEO Still Sees Slow Recovery Even as More Flights Resume
Photo Credit: KLM CEO Pieter Elbers. KLM
Skift Take
KLM has a powerful brand and should be able to withstand this crisis. But it is not a good time for legacy European airlines that usually rely on lucrative corporate travelers.
Dutch airline KLM is seeing modest recovery on short-haul routes, but the long-haul business remains "challenging" and the carrier does not expect full recovery until at least "2023-ish," the carrier's CEO said during a session for Skift Forum Europe on Tuesday.
"There is still a lot of uncertainty for consumers," KLM's Pieter Elbers told Skift Airline Weekly Editor Madhu Unnikrishnan.
KLM is one of many European carriers struggling to survive after Covid-19 decimated its business. The good news is the Dutch government recently came to its aid, with about 3.4 billion euros (about $3.8 billion) in loans and loan guarantees. That should be enough to ensure the airline, which has one of th
