AIR FRANCE POSTS PROFIT DESPITE CRISIS

Bangkok--Jun 5--Aziam Burson-Marsteller Air France today announced that despite the severe aviation industry crisis last year, its turnover for the financial year 2001/2002 (April - March) increased by 2% to 12,530 million euros (approx. 501,200 million baht). Its operating income stood at 235 million euros (approx. 9,400 million baht Air France Group's net profit was 153 million euros (approx. 6,120 million baht). A well-managed operation is the key factor in Air France's success in passing through the crisis while several other airlines announced losses. During the full financial year, the Group's capacity in available seat-km (ASK) increased by 3.5% while traffic measured in revenue passenger-km (RPK) gained 1.6%. As a result, the load factor dropped 1.5 points to 76.6%. Air France continued to gain market share among AEA (Association of European Airlines) member airlines, increasing from 15.4% to 16.9% this year. Air France now ranks second in Europe in terms of traffic. Cargo traffic suffered from the economic slowdown early in the year as well as from the consequences of the September 11th attacks. Capacity in available tonne-km (ATK) decreased by 2.2% and traffic in revenue tonne-km (RTK) by 5.0%. Cargo unit revenues (RATK) resisted well, however, showing an increase of 0.5%. In Thailand, Air France's combined revenue from passengers and cargo has exceeded its target of 1,200 million baht, of which 644 million baht came from passenger sales. The load factor stood at 82%. "We are delighted that our operations in Thailand as well as the Greater Mekong Sub-region have been very healthy both in terms of turnover and service quality," stated Jo?l Routier, Air France General Manager for Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos. "We also just commercialized our Internet ticket sales as a new and convenient point of ticket purchase that allows travelers from everywhere in Thailand to reserve tickets." In addition, Air France Asia Pacific won the Best Quality Award from an internal Air France worldwide competition. "This significant achievement marks a milestone for Air France Asia Pacific and is a testament to their hard work to improve service quality through its Asianization programme," said Routier. Outlook for the current financial year For 2002/03, Air France has targeted a 4.2% increase in capacity, with unit revenues at the same level as in the previous financial year (2000-01). The cost of oil has been estimated to be an average of 23 dollars per barrel after hedging. After taking all these items into account, the Air France Group aims to generate a higher operating income, excluding aircraft disposals, than that of the previous year. Thailand targets revenue increases for 2002/03 Air France Thailand aims to increase total turnover to 1,300 million baht. For passengers, the airline will put a key focus on business travelers, SMEs and leisure tourists. In terms of destination promotions, Air France plans to promote new destinations in Central America and Africa in the Thai market as well as attractive packages e.g., 3-day-2-night package tours to Vietnam. Thai travelers will also receive a special package, which includes a special car rental offer at any European destination. In conclusion, Routier emphasized that the safety of passengers and Air France staff has always been its very first priority. It will continue to observe very tight security procedures and constantly look for safety and security improvements. For more information, please contact Supaporn Decharkom (Air France) at phone (662) 635 1188 or Sribenja Semmeesook (Aziam Burson-Marsteller) at phone (662) 252 9871. FACT SHEET Consolidated financial highlights (In million euros) 4th Quarter Financial Year Year on Year Change (Jan-Mar 2002) (April2001-March2002) Financial Year 2001/2002 2000/2001 2001/2002 2000/2001 Turnover 3,040 2,995 12,528 12,280 +2.0% EBITDAR 400 304 1,650 1,610 +2.5% Operating income 22 48 235 443 -47.0% Group net income 1 (40) 153 421 -63.7% Of the 12,530 million euro turnover, passenger activity accounts for 82.8% of turnover and cargo for 11.6%. For the 235 million euro operating income, passenger activity generated an operating income of 128 million euros, (355 million at 31 March 2001). Cargo activity posted operating income of 5 million euros (34 million euros in the year-earlier period). Maintenance services generated operating income of 26 million euros (19 million euros at 31 March 2001). The remaining balance of 76 million euros, mainly resulted from proceeds of aircraft sales and from other Group activities, (35 million euros at 31 March 2001). RSVP: Satida or Barakorn Aziam Burson-Marsteller Tel. 02 252 9871 End. -AN-

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