Premium – A Fleet Review of Air France/KLM

Air France and KLM merged in 2004.  The joint company has hubs in Amsterdam and Paris.  Because of their long histories in aviation, these two airlines have a reach to every corner of the globe.  Both companies have numerous subsidiaries that cover regional and cargo services.  In this analysis, we only looked at the mainline passenger fleets.

As old and well-established brands, these two airlines remain among the world’s most influential.  They are one of Europe’s top three airline groups.  The following table illustrates the size and average age of the combined fleet.  Air France is more than twice the size of KLM.  Since 2000, the fleet has only grown about 16%.  The average fleet age has dropped substantially though, by 2016 the fleet age was half what it was in 2000.   It would seem the merger of the two airlines has proven to be a smart move.