A Squeeze From All Sides
KLM president and CEO Marjan Rintel, who was recently reappointed for another term, has been candid about where things stand. The airline is already rolling out temporary cost-cutting measures to stabilize its finances, with a target of maintaining a steady 8 percent gross margin over the next four years. That figure, she says, is not arbitrary — it's the minimum needed to keep KLM operating as a full network airline, a status the Dutch government itself recognized as economically important in its latest coalition agreement.



The fuel situation is making that target harder to hit. "This year, we have been hit hard by the fuel prices; therefore, we must temporarily take extra measures to lower our expenses quickly," Rintel said, adding that the duration of instability in the Middle East remains an open and worrying question.

On top of rising kerosene costs, a new Dutch flight tax is set to take effect on January 1.

Under the new structure, passengers will face a charge of 48 euros on medium-haul flights and 72 euros on long-haul routes. For a family traveling to Morocco, Rintel pointed out, the total tax burden could quickly exceed 190 euros. "Then the trip to Germany or Belgium is quickly made.

That's what keeps me awake," she said.

The Border Bleed Problem
The concern isn't just theoretical. Data from Düsseldorf Airpo.