Air France-KLM has reported disappointing third quarter financial results, with net profits dropping €420 million to €366 million for the three months to September 30th.

The European airline group reported a quarterly operating profit of €900 million, which was again down by €165 million compared to the same period last year.

Fuel costs were up by €135 million.

There was, however, a two per cent gain in revenue to €7.7 billion.

Pointing to a “challenging” global economy, Air France-KLM chief executive, Benjamin Smith, said: “Air France-KLM Group’s performance in the third quarter showed resilience amid geopolitical uncertainties and softening macro-economic environment.

“Operationally, we achieved a solid performance during the summer peak travel period.

“Air France and KLM ranked in the top European legacy carriers in terms of punctuality.

“Based on long-haul forward bookings on average ahead of last year and renewed commitment to a strict cost discipline, we are confident that we can deliver on our annual objectives of reduced unit cost and stable leverage ratio.

“All the group’s employees are mobilised to ensure the success of our strategic ambitions, which we will further outline on the occasion of the upcoming investor day next week.”

The group was impacted by a stronger dollar and €100 million in costs from the phasing out of the Airbus A380.