Air France-KLM CEO Discusses Resuming Gulf Flights
Speakers
Ben Smith
— CEO of Air France-KLM
Summary
Air France-KLM CEO Benjamin Smith discusses the airline's cautious return to flying in the Gulf, resuming Riyadh while other destinations remain closed. He confirms fuel is secured through August and demand remains strong, but warns that a fuel spike could lead to capacity adjustments. He also comments on M&A interest in EasyJet, calling it undervalued with an attractive slot portfolio.
- Air France-KLM resumes flights to Riyadh but keeps Dubai, Tel Aviv, Beirut closed.
- Fuel supply secured through August; no capacity pulled yet.
- Late booking environment due to customer uncertainty over fuel availability.
- If fuel prices spike, ticket prices will rise, reducing demand and leading to potential route consolidation.
- Demand remains strong, especially in premium cabins.
- CEO acknowledges EasyJet is undervalued with a strong slot portfolio, attracting M&A interest.
- Air France-KLM not involved in EasyJet talks but open to discussions.
- Gulf carriers expected to be aggressive in regaining capacity, potentially leading to price wars.
Trade Ideas
EasyJet undervalued, attractive slot portfolio.
EasyJet is undervalued due to its impressive slot portfolio at key airports like Gatwick, Geneva, and Orly, combined with a low market cap, making it an attractive M&A target. The speaker acknowledges that a private equity firm (Castle Lake) is looking at buying a portion, and he would pick up the phone if approached.
Up Next
This Bloomberg Markets video, published June 07, 2026, features Ben Smith discussing EasyJet. 1 trade idea extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.