The past period has shown that the form of SPAAK, a Dutch foundation, does not fit well with French corporate law. This could possibly lead to discussions in the future when exercising our rights as a shareholder. An association of shareholders under French law is a more effective way of exerting influence. As a result, SPAAK and VNV have decided, after thorough research, to jointly form such an association: Association SPAAK. This was completed in mid-September. In practice, there will be hardly any difference with the old situation and SPAAK will remain the party that manages the shares in Air France – KLM and exercises the rights and obligations associated with the package of shares.
On Thursday 14 December, the Investor Day of Air France-KLM took place in Paris. This 2-yearly event was last held in 2019. Due to the pandemic, the 2021 edition was cancelled.
The meeting was well attended and there were about 100 guests in the room, mainly analysts from investment banks and brokers. There were another 70 participants via a webcast. The entire Group Executive Committee was present from the company, which underlined the importance of the meeting for Air France-KLM.
The welcome was followed by an extensive presentation in which the various components were explained by Ben Smith, Anne Rigail, Marjan Rintel, Steven Zaat, Angus Clark and Henri de Peyrelongue. This was followed by an hour of Q&A and the meeting ended with a social gathering.
Prior to the day, some news had already been announced via a press release. For example, the outlook for the operating margin for the period 2026/2028 has been revised to >8% and Investment grade credit ratings have been issued by Fitch and S&P Global Ratings. The stock market reacted positively to these reports.
In the multitude of topics, a lot of attention was paid to the relocation of Air France from Orly to CDG and its consequences for Transavia. It was also mentioned that Air France and KLM are growing closer together in terms of performance and the positive dynamics that this entails. Air France-KLM wants to play its role in further European consolidation. Little attention was paid to the Dutch government's reduction plans for Schiphol.
The board of SPAAK was present with a small delegation. Given the presence of many players involved with Air France-KLM, there was ample opportunity to get to know various people and exchange ideas at both the welcome and at the closing social gathering.
For those interested, the presentation can be found on the Air France-KLM website.