Air France-KLM SA (AF) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

[Interpreted] Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, first of all, I would like to thank you all for coming in such high numbers today. Welcome to all of you, whether you are new to us or have been loyal to the Air France-KLM Group for a long time. For those of you who are regulars at this annual meeting, you know how much beyond the formal exercise that this is. We want to foster a genuine dialogue with you. 2023 was a crucial year, both in terms of the exceptional upturn in business and the group's financial recovery, despite a highly unusual context marked by rampant inflation and an unstable geopolitical environment with the war in Ukraine on Europe's doorstep, a ban on operations in Mali, no overflight of Nigeria or Russia, the situation in the Middle East, crisis after crisis. We are seeing negative impacts on our industry. This makes our results all the more remarkable. 2023 was a record year for the Air France-KLM Group, which achieved an operating profit of EUR 1.7 billion, with an operating margin of 5.7%. Strong demand from our customers enabled us to return to a capacity equivalent to 93% of the 2019 level and to generate a turnover of EUR 30 billion. These good results were driven by a strong seat occupancy rate and particularly high yields, significantly increasing our unit revenue. What's more, the impact of major transformation plans throughout the company has enabled us to contain our unit costs. However, the operating results for the last quarter of 2023 showed some decline as did the first quarter of 2024, giving us cause for caution and forcing us to step up our transformation plans. Over and above the solid performance in 2023, the major challenge was to repay in full the state aid granted in 2020 by France and the Netherlands, as we had undertaken to do. This was an essential step made possible by our positive results generated. We finalized it and announced it on the 19th of April 2023. These results and the restructuring of our debt are essential if we are to prepare for the future. That's why in 2023, we wanted to, first and foremost, consolidate the group's balance sheet. We achieved this by monetizing our Flying Blue loyalty program. This transaction, worth EUR 1.5 billion, has enabled the group to restore its equity to a positive level under IFRS standards. The next step was sharing our successes with our employees. We have achieved this through our employee shareholding offer together for the future. This capital increase launched in November 2023 was a great success. It is an important step -- a very important step in uniting all the group's employees and, again, developing our partnerships, such as the creation of a joint venture with Airbus dedicated to maintenance services for A350 equipment. This partnership is all the more strategic because more than 1,000 Airbus A350s are on order worldwide, and supply tensions are still very much present. On top of this, we are committed to consolidating our sector, particularly in Europe, and that's what we've been doing and by acquiring a minority stake in SAS. And finally, we are pursuing our environmental transition in light of the urgent climate change. As a pioneer that we are in the air transport industry, we must fully bear our responsibilities. In 2023, the group's airlines have doubled the amount of more sustainable aviation fuel incorporated compared with 2022, reaching 80,000 tons and, thanks to strategic partnerships, have secured a large part of their future supply. At the same time, we are resolutely pursuing our fleet renewal policy. It is essential for reducing our CO2 emissions and our noise footprint. Here is a summary of some of the initiatives that Ben Smith and Steven Zaat have -- will have the opportunity to talk to you more in -- today. In the face of global conflicts, even more today than in the past, the Air France-KLM Group will remain true to its raison d'etre, continuing to ensure freedom of travel for all, a better understanding of others and the meeting of cultures. While KLM is over 100 years old and Air France has just celebrated its 90th anniversary, we are celebrating the group's 20th anniversary, a young group with a strong heritage of technical and human excellence. And the ambition is to continue to develop responsibly. Dear shareholders, you can count on the commitment of the members of the Board of Directors and on the mobilization of the men and women of the group and its companies. You can count on Ben Smith and his entire management team. They have demonstrated, over the past few years and particularly in 2023, their ability to carry out far-reaching changes while maintaining social stability despite successive and unprecedented crisis. Dear shareholders, thank you very much. Yes. Well, thank you once again. I shall now proceed to appoint the offices of this general meeting, which I will chair. Mrs. Auréliane Labourdette for the Agence des participations de l'État, and Mrs. [ Barbara Solwerk ], for the Dutch government, have agreed to act as scrutineers, and I would like to thank them for it. Alexandre Boissy, General Secretary of our group, will act as Secretary to this meeting. Mrs. Amélie Jeudi de Grissac will present the reports on behalf of the statutory auditors who are also present. And as is customary, we called in a bailiff to ensure that this meeting was properly -- is properly constituted. I'll now hand over to Alex.

[Interpreted] Thank you, dear Chair. I can confirm that the legal formalities have been completed. The notice of meeting was published on 29th of April and the notice of convocation on the 17th of May 2024. The documents required by law are available at the office and on our website. They have been made available to shareholders since the meeting was convened, and I do not propose to list them. In addition, all registered shareholders received an initial copy of the notice of meeting, agenda and resolutions. The answer to the written questions put before the meeting have already been published on our website. Finally, I would like to inform you that we have not received any request to add resolutions or items to the agenda. Verification of the attendance sheet gives a provisional quorum of 58.3%, which means that legal quorum, i.e., 1/4 of shares with voting rights, has been reached. The general assembly is, therefore, duly constituted and may validly deliberate on ordinary and extraordinary business. The final quorum will be determined at the start of the vote on the resolutions. And I'll hand over to Anne-Marie Couderc for the remainder of the meeting.

[Interpreted] which have been made available to you. Turning to the agenda of our General Meeting. Alexandre Boissy will begin with a reminder of resolution submitted for your vote. Our CEO, Benjamin Smith, will present the group's activity for the 2023 financial year, Air France-KLM's strategic orientations, as well as the CSR strategy, including the actions carried out over the past year. Our CFO, Steven Zaat, will then present the financial results for 2023. Following their speeches, I will report on the group's governance, and Alexander Wynaendts, Chairman of the Remuneration Committee; will give you an update on the remuneration or compensation of the executive directors. I will then invite Ms. Amélie Jeudi de Grissac, representative of the statutory auditors, to present their reports. Finally, we will take your questions before voting on the resolutions. I now give the floor to Alexandre Boissy, who will summarize the resolution submitted for your vote.

[Interpreted] Thank you, dear Chair. I will now present the resolutions, details of which are given in the notice of meeting brochure available on our website. Firstly, on an ordinary basis, Resolutions 1, 2, 3 concern the approval of the parent company and consolidated financial statements for the year ended 2023 and the appropriation of net income. Resolutions 4 to 7 concern the approval of regulated agreements and commitments. Resolutions 8 to 12 relate to the appointment and reelection of directors. Resolutions 13 to 14 concern the appointment of statutory auditors responsible for certifying sustainability information. Resolutions 15 to 20 relate to the ex post vote on the remuneration of corporate officers for 2023 and ex ante vote on remuneration policy for 2024. Resolution 21 concerns the authorization given to the Board of Directors to trade in the company's shares. We'll now move to the extraordinary resolutions. Resolutions 22 to 23 concern proposed financial delegations for capital increase reserved for group employees who are members of a company or group savings plan, Resolution 22, and for employees of group's foreign subsidiaries, Resolution 23. Resolution 24 authorizes the Board of Directors to reduce the share capital by canceling treasury shares. Resolution 25 concerns the amendment of Article 26 of the articles of association related to the age limit for corporate officers. And finally, Resolution 26 concerns powers to carry out formalities.

[Interpreted] Thank you very much, Alexandre. Before handing over to Benjamin Smith, I'd like to take a look back at the highlights of 2023 through a video. [Presentation]

[Interpreted] Thank you, Anne-Marie. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, I'd like to begin by thanking you for being here today. For the Air France-KLM Group, 2023 was a year of excellent results and delivered commitments. By staying the course, repaying, redeeming and refinancing state aid granted during the COVID crisis and are continuing to implement our strategic roadmap, we have succeeded in capturing the return of travel demand and delivering solid performance. What's more, we have remained true to our raison d'etre, our mission statement, at the forefront of our most responsible European aviation: we are bringing people together to build a world of tomorrow. This performance is, above all, the fruit of the work of all the group's employees, and I'd like to express my thanks and congratulations to them. Their efforts and commitments are all the more remarkable in such a complex environment. I'd also like to thank our customers for their loyalty and for having chosen our companies as part of the recovery of our industry. Finally, I'd like to thank all of our shareholders, including you, for their confidence and trust. [indiscernible] point, one of our key achievements in 2023 was both repaying and refinancing the COVID aid that we received from the French and Dutch governments. This turning point cannot be understated. And it allowed us to strengthen our balance sheet, secure larger investments in our future and ultimately regain our independence. This freedom to operate is also crucial to advancing the ambitious plan we introduced 5 years ago, which is already proving instrumental in our transformation. The results speak for themselves. In 2023, 94 million passengers chose to travel with us, and the group generated a positive net income of EUR 934 million. I'm proud of all the achievements we've made and the milestones we've reached across all our core businesses, areas, passenger transport, aircraft maintenance and cargo. In order to continue increasing our competitive advantage, we need to stay the course and achieve our medium-term targets, namely by reaching an operating margin above 8% by 2026, 2028, and maintaining our leadership position in sustainability. Since 2019, we've made steady progress towards closing the gap with our European peers, thanks to the hard work our teams do every day across all departments and business areas. We're closing in on our profitability target while keeping our competitive position. Today, our top priority is to continue increasing our earnings and keeping our costs under control. Through our transformation plan, we're focused on increasing cost savings, enhancing our products and services, developing synergies within the group and leveling up our new revenue streams. To guide our actions and achieve the objectives we have set for ourselves, we affirmed our 6 core ambitions. Each ambition provides the group with the set of tangible objectives and translates into a clear roadmap, ensuring we remain on our profitability trajectory and turn our long-term vision into a reality. During this presentation, I'd like to focus on a few of these ambitions, highlighting the progress we've made and detailing what the path forward looks like, beginning with our plans to improve our business model and market position. Today, we have a very strong set of brands with unique identities and positioning: one, Air France and KLM with their extensive legacy and ambition to surpass our customers' expectations; Transavia, which is developing into a leading low-cost European player; and three, Flying Blue, our world-class loyalty program that now spans across all 3 brands and totals more than 24 million members with one new member joining every 5 seconds. Taken together, our unique brand portfolio creates a powerful platform to address the needs of all our customers, offering one of the safest and most comfortable travel experiences in the sky. Complementing our strong product portfolio, the group's long-haul network is a crucial strategic asset centered around our Paris' Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdams' Schiphol hubs, our network spans across all continents. Going forward, we will continue to streamline our activities, enhancing our product and attracting additional customers. A word on fleet, which is renewing quite quickly, which is synonymous with investing in the group's future. I'm pleased to say that we're on track to reach a fleet composition of 80% new-generation aircraft by 2030. Just last year, the group placed a historic order for 50 Airbus A350s with purchase rights for 40 additional aircraft. Our new-generation aircraft has some of the best operational performance in the industry with up to a 15% reduction in cost, 25% more fuel efficiency and a reduction of up to 50% less noise emitted. I would also like to focus on the group's ongoing transformation efforts, which aim to improve profitability. Air France-KLM has implemented over 700 transformation initiatives across all business units. These efforts have driven significant improvements, from network streamlining that cuts cost to commercial programs that boost revenue. We're constantly seeking new ways to transform, aiming for EUR 4.4 billion in structural benefits by 2026. Another integral part of our ambition is to lead the way toward a more sustainable aviation industry. Air France-KLM is fully committed to building a more responsible future for our industry, which accounts for around 2% to 3% of total worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. While we recognize individual limitations, Air France-KLM is firmly committed to its role in tackling this global challenge. Airlines, manufacturers and fuel providers can achieve more together. Air France-KLM champions industry-wide efforts to tackle shared environmental challenges. Looking ahead, we have set ambitious environmental targets, including reducing CO2 emissions per passenger kilometer by 30% by 2030 compared to 2019. By 2050, our ambition is fully aligned with ICAO's long-term aspirational goals. To achieve this, our decarbonization strategy is based on 3 main levers: fleet renewal, the use of more sustainable aviation fuels, or SAF, as well as other operational measures. I'm proud to say that we have made significant progress on all 3. Modernizing our fleet is the biggest and fastest way we're cutting emissions. As I mentioned, by 2030, 80% of our planes will be new-generation models. We're also leading the way in SAF. For 2 years running, we've been the world's biggest consumer, consuming 17% of all global SAF, and we're working with partners to increase production and offer SAF programs to our customers. Our goal is a 10% SAF blend by 2030. These efforts, along with smarter flying techniques and new technology, are key to our sustainability strategy and achieving our 2030 decarbonization goals. Building on our consistent progress in sustainability, 2023 saw significant advancements. Our fleet boasted over 20% next-generation aircraft, and we incorporated an impressive 87,000 metric tons of SAF. We further expanded SAF programs to both passengers and cargo customers, and additionally, our intermodal plane-train service attracted over 100,000 users. However, while these strides are commendable, we recognize that true decarbonization of our complex globalized industry necessitates collaborative industry-wide regulations. In addition to environmental considerations, Air France-KLM is also committed to producing a positive socioeconomic impact in the countries and communities where the group operates. Air France and KLM are not just airlines. They're economic engines, a powerhouse for jobs and growth. In France and in the Netherlands, we directly employ 46,000 and 26,000 people. Studies show that local airlines create 4x more jobs than foreign ones. But our impact goes beyond direct positions. Each Air France-KLM job generates 9 to 11 additional jobs, and every euro we invest spurs over EUR 3 in revenue for our home economies. Our reach extends beyond borders, too. While our workforce is concentrated in France and the Netherlands, over half our sales come from abroad. Flight operations, maintenance, customer service and support functions create a ripple effect, benefiting local businesses across our network. To maintain this positive impact, we need a fair and competitive regulatory environment. This will ensure Air France-KLM can continue to be a job creator and a driver of economic growth for years to come. Air France-KLM is committed to a more sustainable future for aviation and fully supports ambitious environmental measures. However, for these efforts to be truly effective, we advocate for an industry-wide transformation that ensures a fair global playing field. The unfortunate reality is that current regulatory disparities are hindering progress. In Europe, we face a complex web of regulations that disadvantages EU airlines. First, national level fees and taxes had unnecessary burdens in both France and the Netherlands. Second, the EU emissions trading system and SAF mandates apply only to EU carriers, creating an uneven competition landscape. And finally, non-EU airlines may benefit from easier access to capital, lower taxes or geographically based cost advantages. There is, therefore, a need for international action. This uneven playing field threatens fair competition and could lead to unintended consequences with higher cost faced by EU Airlines. Additionally, it could lead to a shift of intercontinental traffic away from EU hubs and towards non-EU ones, ultimately undermining global climate goals. The illustration you see paints a concerning picture. A complex web of national and EU regulations creates an uneven playing field, disadvantaging European carriers like Air France-KLM. Non-EU airlines exploit these loopholes, building a cost advantage that diverts European traffic through their hubs. This is a genuine threat that weakens European economies by relocating jobs and activity outside our borders. We lose control over our connections and air travel sovereignty, eroding the resilience of European economies to external shocks. Furthermore, this uneven playing field undermines the very environmental goals we strive for. Stricter EU regulations might simply displace emissions, a phenomenon known as carbon leakage, potentially increasing them outside of Europe. This achieves nothing. It simply shifts the problem elsewhere. To address this in balance and achieve true environmental progress, Air France-KLM advocates for a global regulatory environment. A market-based balancing mechanism would ensure all airlines compete fairly. This levels the playing field, strengthens European economies and ensures a more sustainable future for aviation, not just in Europe but across the globe. [Foreign Language] for the entire industry. Our group is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and I'm optimistic about the future. Thanks to the efforts and dedication of our teams, the loyalty of our customers and the support of our investors, we have a unique opportunity to not only improve our financial results but also to pursue our transformation with vigor and purpose. Going forward, we will double down on our effective strategy to attain our midterm targets and beyond. Thank you.

[Interpreted] Thank you very much, Ben, for your clear presentation and for the perspectives you offer us. I'd now like to hand over to our Chief Financial Officer, Steven Zaat, to present the group's financial results for 2023. [indiscernible], Steven.

[Interpreted] Thank you, Madam Chair. Hello, ladies and gentlemen. [indiscernible] for me to be at our AGM after the successful year 2023. It was a year where we broke 4 financial records, and it's good to see that our financial performance is significantly above our pre-COVID results despite the much more difficult geopolitical context. And then on top, we know that we are not at the top of our potential, on which I will come back later, but let's go first back to the year '23. In '23, the demand kept growing, and the number of passengers increased by 12% compared with the previous year to a level of almost 94 million passengers. However, we are still more than 10% below the level of 2019. But despite the lower number of passengers in 2023 versus pre-COVID, we broke a significant milestone with our top line. Our first record in 2023 is the revenues. We reached a level of EUR 30 billion revenues, which is an increase of 14% compared to '22 and a level never seen before in our 20 years history as a group. The operating result was not yet at a record level and is still slightly below the level in 2017. However, it improved by 44% compared to the year before despite the difficult geopolitical context in '23. Both the yields and load factor were higher than a year before and mitigated the higher unit cost. Next, to the operational results, we have seen a strong improvement of our balance sheet. Our main KPI is the net debt or our debt minus our cash divided by the EBITDA. Our goal is to be between 1.5 and 2x in the medium term. We reached the level of 1.2x by the end of '23, even better than the goal we have set. The second record I would like to highlight is the net result. For the first time in the history of the group, we reached a net result of almost EUR 1 billion, supporting the return to a positive equity in '23. So let's zoom in on our businesses and how we got to this record result. Let's start with our passenger business. The revenues of our passenger network were 20% higher than in '22. This was driven by a capacity increase of almost 9%, and both load factor and yield improved and resulted in a unit revenue increase of 12%. Both the load factor and yield in the premium and the economic classes improved compared to '22, underlining the willingness to travel. During COVID and even in the aftermath of COVID, our cargo business was performing exceptionally strong due to the lack of capacity from the belly of the passenger planes and the high pricing of the shipping freight. In '23, especially from the second quarter, the belly capacity from the passenger planes on the long haul was coming back strongly, putting more pressure on our cargo yields and resulted in a lower load factor than in '22. As a result, the cargo revenues dropped by 29% and unit revenues by 37%. Despite lower revenues of the cargo business, we reached a third record in '23, which is the level of the operating result of the network business amounting to EUR 1.7 billion. Going to Transavia. Transavia increased their revenues by 19% while capacity increased by 14%. Despite a strong growth in this segment, the demand was driving an improvement of 5% in unit revenues. Our maintenance business increased further the external revenues in '23 by 23% despite the supply chain disruptions and a tight labor market. We are very well-positioned, especially on the new-generation aircraft, and we will increase revenues further in this segment in the coming years. And I still owe you the fourth record of 2023, which is not on the slide. Air France made the highest operating results in its history to an amount of EUR 1.1 billion. I'm proud to say that we have reached a positive equity by the end of '23 that was faster than the internal trajectory we had in mind when I took over the CFO position in July '21 in the middle of COVID. In the first 2 years of COVID, we had a total net loss of EUR 10 billion, destroying our equity we built before. To rebuild the equity, we initiated 2 capital increases, which, in total, generated EUR 3.3 billion. To further strengthen our equity, Air France-KLM successfully launched non-dilutive equity initiatives using our MRO assets and the third-party contracts of our loyalty program, Flying Blue. This is on top of the [ hybrids ] we put in place. In total, this supported our equity with EUR 3.5 billion. But most important is that we build equity in the last 2 years, for a total amount of EUR 1.7 billion by our own activity in the form of net result. We realized that our equity is still too low for the size of our company, and we continue to work on improving the group's equity via generating net results in the years to come. During the Investor Day in December last year, we presented our profitability ambition of EUR 2 billion additional in the next 5 years for our group. KLM was able to turn around its EBIT margins from 2014 to 2019, and Air France did the same from 2019 to 2023. For both Air France and KLM, we expect a gradual growth in EBIT of around EUR 700 million each in the period from 2023 to 2028, including Flying Blue, which is now situated at the group. Transavia showed a negative result in 2023, and we still need to mature our position in Orly. On top, the Transavia results were hampered in '23 by operational issues and delayed fleet deliveries. In our trajectory, there's an improvement of EUR 400 million for our Transavia business, coming from operational performance, stabilization, the A320, A320neo introduction and the further growth of our ancillary revenue base. We have a very successful implements [ at ] paid hand luggages at Transavia this year, and the new fleet arrived at the end of last year. Last but not least, our maintenance department. During the last year, we were hampered by the supply chain improvements and the tight labor market. We have the contracts in place for the next-generation aircraft, and once these planes will mature and when the supply chain crisis is over, we will further grow in profitability with at least EUR 200 million. Overall, this would result in an EBIT improvement of EUR 2 billion for the Air France-KLM Group in 2028 compared to 2023. What are the drivers for these results? A large part of the improvement is coming from the unit cost reductions and an increased productivity. This is the net impact of all the cost initiatives coming from the transformation. We have seen a successful transformation of Air France during COVID, and KLM has jumped on the boat of transformation with this program, funding our journey to get back to the pre-COVID margins. We continue our transformation journey, also after COVID, to reduce further unit cost at Air France, KLM and the group, bringing, all in all, another EUR 450 million to our bottom line. Then we have our fleet renewal. The fleet renewal will further reduce our fuel consumption and will support our decarbonization strategy, and it will bring more than EUR 400 million in profitability improvement in Transavia, KLM and Air France. We work on several initiatives on our revenues. The ancillary revenues grew significantly in '23 to almost EUR 1 billion. We have some other initiatives on our sleeve, like dynamic ancillary pricing and the earlier-mentioned hand luggages at Transavia. And then we have our successful Flying Blue loyalty program, which will further contribute to our trajectory by increasing the revenue year after year. We will further build, for instance, on the Flying Blue miles as a currency in the form of Flying Blue pay. We have still a potential to improve our business model and our operations. Business optimization will come from reducing our losses in domestic France by moving the last part of Air France from Orly to CDG. And on top, we will reduce further the losses on the medium haul by Air France and KLM by optimizing the network. For Transavia, we will see additional results when the network is maturing. '23 has not been the best year in terms of operational performance. We know that KLM was still operating with the brakes on. Transavia had a very tough spring in '23 due to the fleet issues. Both items, business and improving our operations, will bring another EUR 450 million to our bottom line. And then we have organic growth, which will be especially visible for our maintenance business. The initiatives are -- which we have seen are spread actually over Transavia, KLM and Air France, and we don't bet on one horse. All businesses will improve. But also within the businesses, it is a variety of concrete actions we have in mind. A large part of our shareholder base consist of individual shareholders. Probably you have seen before you have entered this room, the Air France-KLM Shareholders' Club booth where you could register yourself as a member of the individual shareholder club if you own at least 5 shares. This club has already more than 2,400 members. The members receive, on a regular basis, newsletters, and private events have been organized. We renewed, in February last year, the Individual Shareholder Committee, the [ CCAI ] with 10 new members who meets the Air France-KLM management regularly. We will introduce the members of the [ CCAI ] during the Q&A session. If you didn't register yourself to the club yet, please visit our website to register. We promised last year during the AGM that we would give the opportunity to our employees in '23 to participate in our shareholding. The group has offered last year's shares with a discount to colleagues in 20 countries. In total, 17,000 colleagues have participated in this employee share plan, which is 22% of the total workforce of Air France-KLM bringing the total employee shareholding above 4%. We are happy with the confidence and commitment to our trajectory and having our colleagues in the group shareholding. I really would like to say a big thank you to all shareholders for your support in 2023. Thanks for your attention.

[Interpreted] Thank you, Steven. Thank you for your presentation. I'm now going to take you through the group's corporate governance before handing over to Alex Wynaendts for the remuneration of executive directors. Dear shareholders, since 2018, our governance has been organized around the separation of the functions of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. This separation ensures a clear and coordinated distribution of the respective roles. The dynamism of the Board is supported by 4 specialist committees, each chaired by an independent director and with a precious and unique role, which play an active role in preparing Board meetings: the 7-member Audit Committee, chaired by Isabelle Bouillot; the Sustainable Development and Compliance Committee, chaired by Anne-Marie Idrac with 6 members; the Remuneration Committee, chaired by Alex Wynaendts with 6 members; and the Nomination and Governance Committee, which I chair and which has 3 members. The year 2023, once again, demonstrated the effectiveness and relevance of our governance organization. Let's move on to the composition of our Board. At 31st December 2023, we have 20 directors, including: 5 representatives of our main shareholders, the French state, the Dutch state,and our main commercial partners, CMA-CGM, China Eastern and Delta Air Lines; 7 independent directors, including 6 women; and 4 directors representing employees and employee shareholders. Since 31st March 2024, following the joint decision by CMA-CGM and Air France-KLM to end their commercial cooperation, CMA-CGM has withdrawn from the Board. As a result, at the date of this general meeting, the proportion of women and the independent directors is almost 47%. Your Board brings together a wide range of complementary skills and experience, including in-depth knowledge of the airline industry, finance, general management and CSR. The latter has enabled the Board to place ESG issues at the heart of the group strategy. In 2023, your Board of Directors and its committees have shown themselves to be highly available and very involved, alongside the Executive Board, particularly in the implementation of major strategic operations for the group following the withdrawal of state aid in April 2023. As you can see from the reconstitution of our equity capital to the tune of EUR 2 billion to the development of key partnerships, such as with Airbus for the maintenance of A350 equipment or our desire to be a major player in the consolidation of the airline sector with the acquisition of a minority stake in SAS, there has been a succession of strategic operations. Your Board of Directors and its committees have also continued to integrate sustainable development issues at the heart of our group strategy with the integration of CSR performance objectives into our financial operations and the additional order for Airbus A350s, offering the best environmental standards on the market. And I really want to thank all those stakeholders was in the Board of Directors. Let's move on to the changes in the composition of the Board. We will be asked to vote on the appointment of 2 new directors, whose reasons for joining the Board you will read about, and on the reelection of 3 directors. Firstly, I submit for your approval, the ratification of the co-option of Florence Parly for the remainder of Isabelle Parize's term of office until the close of the 2026 AGM. Four directors' terms of office expired at the close of this general meeting. Mr. Cees't Hart, who supervised the Supervisory Board until last April, and his term of office as a Director of Air France-KLM ends today, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him warmly for all he has contributed to the work of the Board over the past 5 years, which were particularly complex. So we propose today that you appoint his successor as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of KLM, Mr. Wiebe Draijer for a term of 4 years. Now we're also going to renew the Dirk van den Berg's mandate, appointed on the recommendation of the Dutch government. We propose today that you renew his term of office for a further 4 years. Next is Alexander Wynaendts, Independent Director, and we suggest that we reelect him today for a further 4-year term. Finally, my term of office is also due to expire. We propose that you renew it for a 1-year term, subject to the approval of the 25th resolution. I would now like to invite Alexander Wynaendts in his capacity of -- as Chairman of the Remuneration Committee to join me so that he can present to you the elements of remuneration submitted to your vote.

[Interpreted] Thank you, Anne-Marie. You want me to do my presentation in French. I'll try. Hello. My quality as President of the Council of Remuneration Committee, I'm going to present to you the main elements of the remuneration of corporate officers for '23 and the remuneration policy proposed by the Board for 2024. These items are detailed in Chapter 2 of the 2023 Universal Registration Document and will be put to your vote in Resolutions 15 to 20. Let's start with the directors' remuneration. The amount for 2023 is some EUR 848,432. It was set by the Board of Directors within the limits of the annual budget of EUR 950,000 and in accordance with the allocation rules approved by the AGM of the 7th of June 2023. Let's move now to the 2023 remuneration package for the Chairman -- the Chairperson of the Board of Directors and the CEO. The chair received in '23 fixed annual remuneration of EUR 200,000 and no variable remuneration. With regard to the CEO, the '23 remuneration was comprised of the following elements: Fixed remuneration of EUR 900,000; variable compensation annual of EUR 1,059,769 in respect of the 2022 year; long-term compensation corresponding to 434,216 performance units under the 2022 long-term plan for which the 3-year performance attained 86.67%. It should also be noted that the variable annual remuneration of the CEO in respect of the 2021 financial year, amounting to EUR 1,089,984, was paid during the 2023 financial year, following the repayment of 75% of the state aid, which occurred on the 17th of March 2023. The variable compensation awarded in respect of the 2023 financial year was set at EUR 985,880 for annual variable pay and for long-term variable compensation to 117,855 performance units under the long-term plan '23-'25, subject to performance conditions and presence over 3 years. More specifically, the amount of variable annual remuneration awarded in respect of 2023 corresponds to the performance detailed in the table that you have on the screen behind me. The performance of the quantitative criteria linked to the group's financial objectives was set at 59.8% of fixed compensation. Criteria now linked to the group's nonfinancial objectives were set at 49.7% of the fixed compensation, which amounts to a total of 109.5% of fixed compensation. Let's now move on, if you will, to the compensation policy for 2024. For '24, it is proposed to you that the total compensation package for directors be maintained at EUR 950,000. This amount -- this total will be distributed among the 19 directors in accordance with the same rules as were in place for 2023. In the case of the Chair of the Board of Directors, the Board decided to increase her fixed annual compensation to EUR 350,000, having analyzed the market practices on a panel of comparable companies from the CAC 40 and the Next 20. That said, the Chair of the Board Anne-Marie Couderc was recognizing the need to set the level of compensation for the position at the proposed amount, has indicated her wish to maintain her compensation at EUR 200,000 for her ultimate year in office. No variable compensation is provided for. With regard to the CEO, the Board of Directors has decided to find a new compensation structure for the 2024 financial year, which had remained unchanged, as I said, the structure since 2018. The components of his compensation will change as follows: a 16% increase in fixed compensation, which would amount to EUR 1.044 million; an increase in the target annual variable compensation, which would move from 122% to 150% of the fixed salary, and the maximum annual variable compensation would move from 150% to 180% of the fixed salary; long-term variable compensation remains unchanged. Therefore, the total compensation would increase be 15.3% at target and at 15.8% at maximum compared to 2018. You will also be asked total to vote on the supplementary pension scheme plan for Ben Smith's arrival in 2018. It would comprise a mandatory-defined contribution pension scheme, what is called the PEL -- PERO, Plan d’Épargne Retraite Obligatoire and optional-defined contribution pension scheme in line with market practices. The new compensation structure for the CEO has been defined, taking into account the following components. Firstly, since his arrival back in 2018, Ben Smith has made a remarkable contribution to the group's transformation, bringing Air France's-KLM's profitability closer to that of its main European competitors. The group has moreover achieved the highest turnover in its history in 2023. The new compensation was set after analyzing the compensation practices of comparable companies. Over the same period of time, the group stability has been reinforced. Ben Smith has also distinguished himself by putting sustainable development at the core of his strategy with ambitious choices for the renewal of the group's fleet and purchases of sustainable aviation fuel, SAF, comparable to no other group in the world. In more detail, annual variable compensation will be assessed on the basis of performance criteria linked to financial targets to 60% and 40% for nonfinancial targets, half of which will be linked to the decarbonization action plan. This performance criteria were adopted by the Board of Directors with the aim of limiting the number, simplifying their structure and increasing the proportion of quantitative objectives. Finally, the CEO will receive unchanged long-term variable compensation of up to EUR 2 million payable in shares and subject to the fulfillment of demanding performance conditions assessed over a period of 3 years. The performance conditions of the long-term plan 2024-'26 are focused on the group's performance levels with a significant weighting on CSR objectives. I thank you very much, shareholders, for your attention.

[Interpreted] Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, Alex. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you for being so clear in your presentation, and thank you for doing such a qualitative job. Thank you, dear shareholders, for your attention on this section on Governance and Compensation. I would now like to invite Mrs. Amélie Jeudi de Grissac, representing the statutory auditors to present their reports.

[Interpreted] Thank you, Madam Chair. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, on behalf of the joint statutory auditors, KPMG and PwC firms, I'm pleased to report on the independent assignment you have entrusted to us. Our reports on the 2023 financial year are included in the 2023 Universal Registration Document and in the Notice of Meeting. We have issued 6 reports to your attention: a report on the consolidated financial statements, set out on Pages 430 to 434 of the Universal Registration Document; a report on the annual accounts, set out on Pages 451 to 454; a report on regulated agreements on Pages 455 to 464; and 3 reports on transactions on capital involving the company's share capital on Pages 56 to 58 of the Notice of Meeting brochure. I will now outline the key points. Regarding the accounts. On these consolidated financial statements, our responsibility is to express an opinion and tell you that there is no anomalies. So our audit approach has taken into account the specific characteristics of your group. Our reports highlight the key points representative of the elements that we considered that were the most sensitive to issue an opinion. So we will be -- so in our report, you will find the valuation of equity investments and related receivables and, for the consolidated accounts, the valuation of aeronautical assets and then the recognition of sales and recognition of the French tax routes deferred tax assets. Your company's Audit Committee and Board of Directors have been kept regularly informed of our work. In conclusion, in our opinion, the financial statements of your company and the consolidated financial statements of the group for the year ended December 31, 2023, presented to you in accordance with the first and second resolution have been approved without qualification or comment. The consolidated financial statements contain one technical observation related to a change in accounting method for greenhouse gas emission rights. Now regarding our special report on regulated agreements. Our report sets out the agreements authorized and entered into during the year just ended and the reasons for entering into them. These agreements have been authorized in advanced by your Board of Directors and are submitted for your approval under Resolutions 4 to 7. These regard: the repurchase during the financial year of a portion of the [ per petrol ] super subordinated notes and the subscription of new notes under the fourth resolution; the termination of the commercial cooperation agreement on air freight between Air France-KLM and CMA-CGM and the amendments to the investment agreement between the parties under the fifth resolution; the investment contract and shareholders' agreement related to the Flying Blue financing operation under Resolution #6; and the termination of the agreement to waive the financial mechanism related to the joint venture contract with China Eastern Airlines under Resolution #7. Our report also mentions agreements entered into and approved previously that continued during the year. For these resolutions, we have no comments to make. Finally, on our reports on capital transactions. The first 2 reports relate to the proposed delegation to the Board of Directors the power to decide on the issue of shares or securities, giving access to the capital with a waiver of preemptive subscription rights reserved for employees who are members of the company savings scheme under Resolution 22 and reserved for employees of foreign companies under Resolution #23. We have nothing to report on the information given in the Board of Directors' report. We will issue an additional report when these delegations are used by your Board of Directors. And the final report addresses the proposal to authorize the Board of Directors to reduce the share capital in accordance with Resolution #24. We have nothing to report on the terms and conditions of the proposed capital reduction. Madam Chair, dear shareholders, thank you for your attention and your confidence.

[Interpreted] Thank you very much, dear auditor. Dear shareholders, we will now start our question-and-answer session. I suggest that we take maybe 3 questions at a time. And thank you ahead of time for introducing yourself, first and foremost, and secondly, being as concise as possible in your questions so that we can answer as many questions as possible. Of course, if we were not to answer all of your questions, as usual, we will ask you to send your questions, and we will answer them as fast as possible. And you can always find the answers to your questions on our website. We will spend about 40 minutes during this Q&A session, and I hope it will be as a constructive dialogue as possible. So I suggest to our Secretary General, to be the moderator of this Q&A session. So could you please launch the first 3 questions?

[Interpreted] Yes, shareholder. Steven indicated earlier the Consultative Committee of Individual Shareholders was renewed last year. He would invite his members to stand up in -- yes. Thank you. Question was entered individual shareholders, members of the Shareholders' Club and the [ CCIA ]. This committee will submit 2 questions stemming out of these surveys for the attention of the General Assembly. Mic #3 is at your disposal for you to submit.

[Interpreted] Philippe Millet. When will be the income level to give way -- to the paying out a dividend?

Thanks for asking the question again -- and also during our Investor Day. It's not only a question of earnings. It's also a question for us on equity. As I showed you, we destroyed a lot of equity during COVID. We are just slightly positive in equity. And we need to restore further our balance sheet. So unfortunately, we are not yet there. But as soon as we have a decent level of equity, and we have sufficient net result, we will consider to pay dividend.

[Interpreted] Isabelle Ranc. Second question for the CCAI. There's a strong need to reduce carbon emissions. We've mentioned it a great deal today. The Air France-KLM Group is very much committed along those lines, but shouldn't we step up our efforts and go further to make it a decisive sector in this fight? Our commitment towards sustainability shouldn't be a commercial stake, but should help us stand out from the competition.

[Interpreted] We will take the third question. Sorry, I forgot to take the 3 questions at a time.

[Interpreted] What about the consolidation outlooks in the air industry? What avenues have you explored?

[Interpreted] Thank you very much. You now have the floor. Ben, would you like to take this one?

[Interpreted] I think there were a few comments and questions in there. So which ones? [indiscernible] you asked in the presentation, but I can restate some of it. We said in 2030, 30 -- we'll have a 30% reduction in CO2 emissions per passenger kilometer relative to 2019. So that's an aggressive and an ambition goal. We have that. We said we're spending EUR 2 billion per year on new aircraft, next-generation aircraft, which reduce fuel by up to 25%, CO2 emissions by up to 25% and noise by up to 50%. So that has been committed, EUR 2 billion a year, and we're doing all kinds of operational improvements, such as eco-piloting procedures. And we're pushing intermodality. As you know, we've canceled flights, as an example, between Brussels and Paris, Lyon and Paris, Nantes and Paris as well as Bordeaux and Paris [indiscernible] the airport. So we've done that when there is a good train option. But at the same time, when we do that, we want to ensure that we're not just moving the problem somewhere else that a customer who can no longer fly with Air France-KLM chooses to fly Lufthansa over Frankfurt and Munich as an example. So that -- this we need to maintain our competitive position because that doesn't help the environment at all. It just shifts the problem. As we mentioned also already, we're doing everything we can to purchase SAF as much as we can. We are the #1 user of SAF globally. So we had 17% of the global production is what we use, whereas we only consume 3% of jet fuel. So you can see versus how much jet fuel we consume globally, our SAF usage is much higher. Sorry, next question was on the consolidation. So there are -- there's one file that we're already heavily engaged in, which is SAS, Scandinavian Airline Systems. We've purchased 19% of SAS, along with the Danish state, a private equity firm and an individual family. The process to exit bankruptcy, because SAS was in bankruptcy, is almost complete. We have secured agreement to have SAS enter the SkyTeam alliance, and all of the necessary commercial -- the commercial negotiations with our partners should be completed by the end of the year. We get a lot of questions on TAP, which is the national airline of Portugal. There has recently been a change in government in Portugal. So the process for putting TAP up for sale is on hold. So we're not pursuing anything at this moment and waiting to see what the Portuguese government if and when they do put the airline up for sale, whether that's something that could need -- or could be of interest to us. Those are the 2 main airlines that could form part of consolidation. And of course, there's ITA, which is the new name for the former Alitalia, which is 100% owned today by the Italian state. Lufthansa has made a bid for over 50% of the airline. It's awaiting approval by the European Commission, and it's been almost 6 months back and forth between the European Commission and Lufthansa to see if they can find a compromise on remedies that need to be imposed to ensure a balanced competitive level playing field stays in place. So that's where we are in Europe.

[Interpreted] Thank you, Ben.

[Interpreted] Do we have any additional questions at this point in time?

My name is [ Martina Douban ]. I'm from the Fossil Free movement in Netherlands, and my question is to CEO, Ben Smith. So 2 years ago, we stood here to announce our lawsuit against KLM, taking a stand against your greenwashing practices. And last year, we stood here once more as the court ruled that our case was admissible. And today, we again face your inconvenient truth. This year, the court ruled you have indeed greenwashed. You have misled consumers, painting overly rosy pictures about what you still call sustainable aviation fuels. Alternative fuels are a fairytale, heavily reliant on land that we need to feed the world. On a large scale, as you are planning, alternative fuels grow on land that is not yours. It grows on land that is used for deforestation, water scarcity and land scrubbing. And alternative fuels are relying on waste of industries steeped in unsustainability because KLM is planning to fly on pig fats. And for one transatlantic flight, you need the fat of 8,800 pigs. Imagine how many pigs it would take to fuel the growth path at KLM and the aviation industry at all is following. We don't need pig fat-fueled business class seats. We need food and water. We don't need bulls*** flights from Amsterdam to Brussels and Paris. We need clean energy to warm and cool our houses. We don't need you to keep on growing. We need you to shrink your polluting business and stop misleading us. The ink of the [indiscernible] was not even dry yet, when you, Mr. Smith, told the press that you were not greenwashing. And you called the court case and the [indiscernible] an inconvenience. You know what is an inconvenience? All victims of climate catastrophe. We're fighting for this life -- for their lives at this very moment. And you know what is an inconvenience? The truth that you're openly defying a court order and, therefore, undermining the rule of law. So my question is very simple. Why should we, as shareholders here today, believe you? Why should we believe that the Board is telling you? And why should we believe that the Board is doing when they're also questioning a court ruling? Thank you very much.

[Interpreted] Thank you very much. Ben, can you take this one?

Thank you for your statement and your question. I think quite a few of us here, we have young children that -- I have a 12-year-old daughter that I hope will be able to enjoy the same living standard, have the same opportunities as I do. So it's not something that we don't think about. We also have a lot of young and not-so-young employees that believe that our industry can be decarbonized. Some of them are extremely environmentally focused, and they find it a real challenge. And I do believe it can be done. In terms of the greenwashing suit against us, it's something we will deal with appropriately in court. It's not something I'm going to comment on here. And all of the items or the things that you just brought up regarding sustainable aviation fuel where it comes from and is it having an impact on other things, we're following the strictest possible standards. We are not -- if you look at our level of responsibility when it comes with the SAF that we're choosing, it does follow the most stringent rules possible. We are not looking to shortcut or sidestep any of -- back -- those regulations. I don't think you'll find another airline around the world that is as responsible when it comes to SAF. So I hear you. Thank you for your questions, and hopefully, we'll be able to stay aligned on this. You asked -- you did ask another part to your question. We're not looking to -- we believe in the -- we believe in aviation for the future. We believe in decarbonization. What we don't believe is in the distortion of the market and a transfer of activity to other airlines. And we're not looking to push the problem elsewhere. We'd like to play a big part in decarbonizing the industry, but we want to do it in a way that is net neutral or net negative -- negative improvement for the world, and we definitely don't want to concentrate or help move this problem elsewhere. We're not focused on that at all.

[Interpreted] Do we have any additional questions in the room, maybe batches of 2 or 3 questions maybe?

[Interpreted] [ Philippe Salange ]. I've been a shareholder, and I'm an Air France flyer. Two short questions, a bit more kind of down to earth. My apologies there. When will we be getting a membership card for North America as we have these for other locations, but not for North America with Air France? It's a bit of a pity because I only fly from Paris to Montréal, and it so happens that I have shares in several French businesses. And as I have stated earlier to your shareholders' representatives, it would be nice to have coffee available -- to make coffee available. When you come in, it will be nice to enjoy a coffee. With so much welcome now onboard our Air France aircraft, so it would be nice to have coffee as you walk in.

[Interpreted] Second question.

[Interpreted] My name is [indiscernible] from a sales [indiscernible] with Air France. My question is for the General Director of Air France. On June 24, a local Haiti Director, Mr. Didier Mortet, was actually shot in Port-au-Prince. This incident strongly affected all sales teams and all of the companies did a commemorative remembrance plaque on the ground floor of the [ Pegasus Building ]. And he was a pro model, an example of what man can bring to Air France and what a man can contribute to Air France. So we're approaching the anniversary of his death. So is there -- will there be a remembrance ceremony in the memory of Didier Mortet 20 years on. And if so, when and where?

[Interpreted] Thank you for your question.

[Interpreted] [ Leo Josel ]. The question on SAF. It costs more than the standard fuel. Will there be a knock-on effect in the price of flight tickets?

[Interpreted] Very well. Thank you. Ben, could you take some of these questions and especially the one from Mr. [ Salange ] because he's blaming us for not welcoming enough people on -- so I apologize if we do that, if you don't get a coffee when you arrive.

Okay. I can't see where the [Foreign Language]. [Interpreted] Thank you for your loyalty membership card signed between France and Canada. I don't know why you haven't gotten that. So that's a good question. I'd love to -- I would be interested in this myself. I'm aware that we do have benefits and -- unique for the U.S. I'll look into what we can have for Canada. The second question was for Anne Rigail, right? The question on SAF, that was for me. Well, I can take the -- Didier Mortet.

[Interpreted] Yes, of course. So we are directly in touch with Didier Mortet's family, and some of his family members work at Air France. We, of course, remember this tragedy. The family is not in favor of a -- an official memorial ceremony. So of course, our thoughts are with his family, and they will, of course, honor his memory. But the family did not want to have a memorial ceremony.

Regarding SAF over cost, so substantial investments are required to reduce CO2 emissions, as we mentioned throughout our presentations today. We believe these additional costs will gradually be reflected in the price of airline tickets. So we recognize that this will be an additional airfare on the part of all our customers, and the distortion of competition is arising and, in particular, for airlines based in Europe. Beyond customers, there's also then the question of jobs and, in particular, sovereignty and economic resilience. So customers, we believe will have to pay, but we're very concerned that European carriers will put in a situation where it becomes extremely difficult for us vis-à-vis our competitors who are outside of Europe, and that could lead to some very negative impacts, such as a loss of sovereignty when it comes to having European carriers base here, which provide a lot of benefits to each country based in Europe.

[Interpreted] Any additional questions in the room? On the left.

Sorry about that. My name is [ Veny ]. I am 21 years old. I'm from the Netherlands. And I have a question in English. It's great to be in Paris, the city where the famous Paris accord has been signed. You would think that while over here, KLM would try everything in its power to commit to the agreement. However, Milieudefensie, and in collaboration with the Breda University, has found that this is not the case. The Paris Agreement demands a 48% decrease of CO2 emissions in 2030 to limit dangerous climate change. However, according to our research, the plan of KLM will emit 6% of CO2 more, so not a reduction of 48% but an increase of 6% in 2030. All right. We see that KLM's business plan is to attract foreign flyers to take a layover at Schiphol in the Netherlands instead of taking a direct flight. This causes an average of 2x more CO2 emissions, and that is a lot that's unnecessary. And that is extremely damaging to our planet, and KLM is doing this solely to make profit. This shows that KLM puts profits over people and planet. The climate crisis is now, and KLM needs to understand that it needs to change and come up with a just and a fair climate plan. That is why I want to ask you the following question, and please don't take it lightly because it's necessary. Will KLM reduce its CO2 emissions by 48% in 2030 compared to 2019 in absolute terms in the whole value chain? That means Scope 1, 2 and 3, [Foreign Language].

[Interpreted] Maybe let's take a second and a third question as we've done this far.

[Interpreted] [ Jose Tamagades ]. I'm an employee. I'm a shareholder. A question with regard to development, the development of Transavia for the forthcoming years. What is forecast, notably with regard to Orly with close on 80 aircraft on the ground? Is this a bit dangerous, given the environmental context? We've just heard pertaining to that to the different details. Will that not be the next target? Rightly or wrongly, I'm not judging, but could it be the next target of environmentalists lobby pressure, legitimately or not, of course? And in line with that, the closing of the operations of Air France in Orly, which is conditioned with that. Is it not lowering the range of offers that we offer our customers to leave Orly, to leave what we used to call the Navette, the shuttles to Toulouse and Nice, Marseille. I'm thinking also about the French territories abroad, overseas at any rate. Has that been calculated? All this risk of loss of customers. Notably, when we see that in Orly, there's almost a total control of the British Airways Group, I -- e.g., with the presence of Air Europa, Air Portugal maybe, also possibly there. I would like to know whether all these aspects, all these components pertaining to competition internally with regard to the strategy of range and offers for our customers, has that been taken into account in the decision of closing down Orly for Air France?

[Interpreted] Thank you. Maybe we'll take a third question now before we go to the answers.

[Interpreted] I'm a shareholder. If we can congratulate ourselves and we can congratulate the group for the -- we can certainly be happy about the good results of the group in 2023. But the share shouldn't be at the level -- is not at the level it should be. So how can we get back to a respectable rate for this -- for the share? Second thing, you have launched a loan, which was apparently a great success. However, we learned about this launch much more -- much longer after that. So how do we know about this kind of loans? And how do the workers know about it?

[Interpreted] Thank you very much. Marjan, maybe you want to say a few things about the first question ask by this person, and maybe, Anne, you want to say a few things as well. And Steven, if you want to answer the last lady. Marjan?

I understand your concerns on the climate change. And as has been already explained, we are committed, and we feel responsible. As KLM, we want to fly cleaner, more quiet and more efficient, and we work with all the colleagues on this every day. We take small steps and big steps as to bring us to the CO2 reduction as required. So we are taking it seriously. And at the same time, it's not a one-site approach to the impact of aviation. Also aviation, including KLM, contributes to a positive form of connections. And abolishing Schiphol hub is not a solution of the CO2 problem. It's not reducing the CO2. It's only moving it to other countries. And the Netherlands does not exist in isolation. Transfer passengers will travel via another airport, and Dutch people will be forced to do so if the connections are not there anymore. A hub Schiphol -- a hub system is simply the best way for connections and to organize a transport. And it applies to planes, but also to train buses and cars, and that's where we focus on. Thank you.

[Interpreted], Marjan. Ben? Thank you. Do you want to say something else? Madam, do you have an additional question?

Can I do this in English?

Yes. Yes.

Perfect. You've talked about a hub being the best way. Well, it is, of course, the best way for KLM. But you've said KLM has a responsibility in the climate crisis, to be sustainable and to have a plan that is in line with the Paris Agreement. But we see that KLM does not have this. And that's why I want to, please, a yes or a no to my question. Will it reduce CO2 emission by 48% in 2030? That's my question.

Yes, I heard your question. And we stated that we take small steps, and we take big steps to reduce CO2. Thank you.

[Interpreted] What I would like to add is that this is a major challenge for our group, and this is supported by all companies in the group. And we are absolutely determined to commit to and to deliver on our commitments to provide a sustainable and responsible air company towards the planet. That is our preoccupation, and we feel responsible for this. And I think we feel this is our duty. So I think our endeavors are led to general and positive solutions. So we need to respect this to meet the...

With regard to the question pertaining to Orly -- it's one of our 3 centers of production. So we have Amsterdam-Schiphol. We have [indiscernible] Charles de Gaulle in Paris, and we have Orly airport. So prior to the opening of Charles de Gaulle in the early '70s, Orly was the base for Air France. And then gradually, over time, the bulk of Air France activity moved to Charles de Gaulle. Also, over that period of time, the TGV was expanded onto many of our most important domestic lines. The French domestic market, the activity that Air France operates in the French domestic market, has been money-losing for over 30 years, and there have been all kinds of efforts to neutralize those losses and actually make them profitable and very difficult for a number of reasons. We do have a privileged position. We do have 50% of the slots at Orly. The airport is saturated. So for a new airline or any airline to add a flight at Orly, another airline has to exit, has to pull out of flight. So it is a privileged position that we're in. However, it's highly unusual when you have a market share position like that in a slot-constrained airport that you're not able to make money. So the plan -- the business plan around what we're doing at Orly, of course, it takes into account all of the elements, positive and negative, that produced the negative results in Orly. And yes, some parts of the operation are positive. However, can we gain more money from those by centering our Air France activity at Roissy? And the evaluations that we made do lead to that conclusion. However, there are routes in domestic France where there still is a demand for air travel despite alternative modes of travel and despite the increases in use of video conferencing, et cetera. So we are maintaining minimal service on some of those routes and -- such as Toulouse or Nice. The overall offering of seats will not change with the split between Roissy and Orly. Orly is predominantly low-cost carriers that operate there, and there are a few full-service carriers that operate there but only to feed their respective hubs. So it is not a -- it's a very unique airport, and the only way that we've come to the conclusion we can make that profitable is by having a low-cost carrier base there. We do need between 75 and 80 airplanes to use all the slots that we have. And we believe with our Flying Blue program, combined with the cost structure of Transavia, combined with our privileged slot portfolio, we should be able to have a very, very fantastic profitable operation at Orly, and it's something we're really looking forward to. It's a very big transformation. And if you look at other cities in Europe, around the world, it's very unique to have this opportunity. [Foreign Language]

[Interpreted] Yes, I would like to say something about the environmental part of this plan. So in addition to what Ben said, we need to be aware that the remote conferencing that happened during the COVID really changed the way people acted. And so we really saw that change after 2022 when we resumed our activity, and we saw 40% less activity in the small routes and the shuttles from France, from Paris to Nice and Toulouse, et cetera. And so we have realized that the business customers do not travel for meetings in Paris. So we have suffered from loss in business and that we haven't found our balance and the balance that we had before COVID. So if we're not changing the investment capacity of our group, then we'll never get to a financial balance because we need to invest in the environment and decarbonization. So this is not sustainable for the group. So we talked because this has had an impact on employees, and we negotiated with unions and, in particular, because for Orly employees will have to change trade, jobs and all place where they live and so we have talked to the people, to the employees there to accompany this movement. We set this -- we've had this program -- this plan 2 years ago as to anticipate this. But Toulouse, Marseille, Nice towards Roissy routes have been robust because there is a lot of demand for these route. And Transavia is starting in 2026 to operate -- will start in '26 to operate in different modals for Nice, Marseille, Toulouse. And globally speaking, the capacity will not meet what we offer today but will reach 90% approximately. So customers will find an offer that is still very good to come to Paris at CDG, but also in Orly with Transavia. You also have a question about the impact because Transavia is no local. So what does it mean in terms of decarbonation? Well, to tell you something, figures, Transavia is 5% of the total group's emission for 2019, and 80% of our emissions are for long carriers. And so when we mentioned the objective of minus 30% of emissions per person per kilometer by 2030, we speak about the whole of the group, including Transavia. And Transavia is playing an active part in it. Transavia is renewing its fleet. We should have 13 A320 by the end of the year, and we should also have -- well, this is the plan at least by 2030, 100% of new planes for Transavia. So it's a complete renewal of the fleet, and Transavia has had the same objectives of including SAF as Air France and the rest of the group. So even for -- that's the same ambition and same investment to decarbonize the footprint, the carbon footprint. Steven, can you answer the...

Do it in English, but this is such a complicated question that I cannot do it in my poor French. Let's say, we have seen -- usually, we don't comment on the share price, but I give you some elements, which you can read also in a very interesting article of Bloomberg. We have seen that Q4 and Q1 was quite difficult in terms of operations, first. And second, we have seen that the salaries as we increased significantly in Air France and KLM, we are actually now acting to get this unit cost at a lower level. And then we still have, let's say, our wounds of the COVID crisis, which is especially for the deferral of the payment related to wage tax and also to, let's say, pensions, which we paid part of this European in January, and also part of the pension [ ITR co ] and social charges we have to pay. If you look at the analyst reports, let's look what is their target price. For the rest, I cannot say anything more on the share price. Then on the OCEANE, I think it would be an interesting idea. The problem is this is a market where you have to act very quickly. You talk about bonds of around EUR 100,000. So it is not really equipped to do something with the staff. We collected EUR 650 million in 1.5 days, and that will not be possible for those kind of transactions with the staff. We had, in the past, thought of financing aircraft with the staff, but it is quite difficult to organize at all. So I think it's not an appropriate market to do it with the staff.

[Foreign Language], Steven.

[Interpreted] So we just have a few minutes, maybe 2, 3 questions, maximum. We have question 4 here to our right. Question 3 there on the right also.

[Interpreted] [ Mary Cardin Leconte ]. I have a question with regard to -- I'm [ Mary Cardin Leconte ] and the SAF could -- EUR 2,000 in the states and EUR 5,000 in France. So my question is, why is this? And what are our levers to reduce this difference?

[Interpreted] Another question?

[Interpreted] If I may come back to the -- Mr. Ben Smith answer with regard to Transavia Orly and the departure of Air France from Orly. You say it's a unique case with regard to the presence of Air France, a company such as Air France in an airport, secondary diverted [ commerce ] airport. That's not the reality. If we look at the other side of the channel, British Airways have invested beyond the Heathrow hub, have invested in Gatwick, London City also to do a point-to-point and also to work on stops going to Europe, flights to Europe. And given the results of British Airways, notably in '23, of plus $3.2 billion profit, which given the limited losses of EUR 4 million in the first quarter with regard to our EUR 284 million for the first quarter 2024, that brings a global -- with regard to leaving Orly, brings into perspective the following question. Are we really on the trajectory -- I'm not calling everything into question, of course. I'm not a strategist specialist. However, trajectory with regard to development for Transavia and for Air France, especially. Thank you.

Thank you for your additional question -- London City. They use the same brand British Airways, but the working conditions and the collective agreements are absolutely completely different for the navigating staff. So it's not the same thing as us with Air France. It's just a part and it's -- it is a British Airways brand, but we can't be compared with British Airways in London Heathrow. You're right, it's 100% BA, but it's very profitable Heathrow for British Airways because that's a specific link that they have with the percentage of customers that they have who work in the finance industry, who are ready to pay more for flights with the legacy airlines. But for Gatwick, it was different. They were ready to pull out. They totally removed the whole domestic lines, 100%.

[indiscernible]

[Interpreted] I'm sorry. Our objective was not to remove Air France as a brand from -- it's not easy to take this decision. [indiscernible] We hope that the national flag of France will remain in Orly and will remain alive.

[Interpreted] There was another question on SAF, Anne?

[Interpreted] Thank you very much for your question. This is what we've seen when we buy sustainable fuel, when we secure future mandates for 2025 and 2030. So the sustainable fuel that we buy in France is EUR 5,000 per ton, and the price is much less elsewhere. As you said, in the U.S., it's EUR 2,000 per ton. So why is that? There could be technical explanations. But the main difference is the difference of philosophy between Europe and the States, the States having decided to massively subsidize a number of investments and, in particular, environmental investments and these investments for SAFs. So it's not a difference of quality. So I'm just connecting again with the question on human or animal food. But what we -- everything we buy in the Air France-KLM Group do comply with European legislation. So there's no competition with human and animal foods including when we buy them elsewhere outside of Europe or the U.S. But it's true that the Inflation Act generates a big reduction on the price of the SAFs, which is not the policy in Europe. And so we think that we need both policies to succeed. It's a question of sovereignty. So the States have understood that to be sovereign, in terms of SAFs, they needed to invest. And so we are pushing to change these policies even in Europe so that we can generate more production for SAFs in volumes and prices that could be less than what we know now.

[Interpreted] Thank you very much, Anne.

[Interpreted] So I think we still have time for one last question. Time for one last question because time has run out. One final question.

Dear Board of Air France-KLM, my name is [ Dominique ], and I wrote a poem for you, which I'm going to read now. I try to cherish a feeling that let me look up to the cloud's composed of condensed proud, capturing the blue wings, which were given to our aspiration. I try to cherish the feeling that let me believe in luck, reaching the limit of the sky and will bring me to my most desirable destination. Being delighted by the finite ray, left behind is a white footprint, either feasible in the smoke-covered sunlight of the day or the artificially illuminated night. I look down to civilization, build upon fuel and more overgrowth that seems to have slowly taken in space and my feeling away. I'm not capable anymore of listening to what is whispered by the birds, which migrate only twice a year, initiate the day and used to be my inspiration. While we pursue economic growth, not only they are suffering, but we are both breathing in the same air that is polluted with plane's emission. If we led wind innovation and wait til all the muses are gone, there will be nothing more than sky filled with gray tears falling on you, us, the next generation. We can't escape from the truth or wait for innovation. Nonetheless, there is place for a blue swan in a biodiverse landscape. Since the rainbow consists of more than only blue, time will perhaps promises personal pleasure has passed. The only way up to above the clouds is a way in the other direction, to protect your own and our whole nation's feeling of proud. Thank you.

[Interpreted] Thank you very much. I think we have reached the end of our Q&A session. I think we heard your preoccupations, your worries from all of you who have expressed themselves. And if there are still more questions in the room, I repeat what I said earlier, we are at your disposal outside of this general assembly to speak with you or answer your questions. But if you wish, we are going to close this Q&A session and we're going now. Sorry, I'm -- I apologize, ladies and gentlemen, but I think we have listened to what you had to say. We took it into account. We thank you for expressing your feelings. And we want to respect that and make sure we answer your questions and give an answer to your preoccupations. Thank you, everyone. We're going to move on to the vote of resolutions. So for people in the room, if the is noise is just unbearable, you cannot -- you can grab your headsets and continue listening to the rest of this assembly. So we're now moving on to the vote on the resolutions.

[Interpreted] Thank you, Anne-Marie. So the final quorum is 58.32%. The legal quorum, i.e. 1/4 of shares with voting rights, has therefore been attained. This quorum represents all shareholders present, represented or having voted by mail. Before we vote, I'd like to show you a film on the use of the tablets you've been provided with. So it's on the screens. We have been given a tablet. The device is strictly personal and can only be used in this meeting. On the announcement of the vote of a resolution. The vote window automatically displays on your tablet, even if it is in sleep mode. Casting a vote, nothing simpler, press on the button corresponding to your choice: for, abstention or against. [Presentation]

[Interpreted] So let's move on now to vote on the resolutions, first, the ordinary resolutions. So first resolution, approval of the parent company financial statements for the year ended 31st of December '23, showing a profit of EUR 129,784,337, voting is now open. You have 12 seconds to vote. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. Resolution is adopted. Second resolution, approval of the consolidated financial statements and operations for the year ended 31st of December '23, showing group net income of EUR 934 million, the vote is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Vote is closed. Resolution adopted. Third resolution, appropriation of net profit for the year ended 31 December 2023. It is proposed that the profit before the year be appointed in full to the retained earnings account, vote is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Vote closed. Resolution is adopted. Fourth resolution, approval of related party agreements with the French state, vote open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Vote is closed. Resolution is adopted. Fifth resolution, approval of regulated agreements relating to commercial cooperation between Air France-KLM and CMA-CGM, vote is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. That resolution is carried. Sixth resolution, approval of regulated agreements related to the financing raised by Flying Blue miles, the vote is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. Resolution is adopted. Seventh resolution, approval of regulated agreement in connection with the termination of the agreement to waive the financial mechanism related to the joint venture contract with China Eastern Airlines, voting is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed, and resolution is adopted. Eighth resolution, renewal of the term of office of Mrs. Anne-Marie Couderc as Director for a 1-year term, the vote is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. The resolution is adopted. Ninth resolution, ratification of the co-opting with Mrs. Florence Parly as director to replace Mrs. Isabelle Parize, the voting is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. resolution is adopted. 10th resolution, renewal of term of office for Mr. Alexander Wynaendts as director for a term of 4 years, voting is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. Resolution is adopted. Our 11th resolution, renewal of term of office for Mr. Dirk Jan van den Berg as director for a term of 4 years, voting is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. Resolution is adopted. 12th resolution, appointment of Mr. Wiebe Draijer as director for a term of 4 years, voting is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. Resolution is adopted. 13th resolution, appointment of KPMG SA as statutory auditor responsible for certifying sustainability information, voting is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. resolution is adopted. 14th resolution, appointment of PwC as statutory auditor in charge of certifying sustainability information, voting is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. Resolution is adopted. 15th resolution, approval of the information on the 2023 remuneration or compensation of each of the corporate officers required by Article L22-10-9 l of the French Commercial Code, voting is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. Resolution is adopted. 16th resolution, approval of the remuneration paid or awarded to the Chairman of the Board of Directors in respect of 2023 financial year, voting is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. Resolution is adopted. 17th resolution, approval of the remuneration paid or awarded to the Chief Executive Officer in respect of the 2023 financial year, voting is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. Resolution is adopted. 18th resolution, approval of the 2024 remuneration policy for nonexecutive directors, voting is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. Resolution is adopted. 19th resolution, approval of the 2024 remuneration policy for the Chair of the Board of Directors, voting is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. Resolution is adopted. 20th resolution, approval of the 2024 remuneration policy for the Chief Executive Officer, voting is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. Resolution is adopted. 21st resolution, authorization for the Board of Directors to trade in the company's shares, voting is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. Resolution is adopted. We'll now move on to the extraordinary resolutions. We begin with 2 financial delegations result for group employees. 22nd resolution, delegation of authorities to the Board of Directors to carry out capital increases reserved for members of the company or group savings plan without shareholders' preemptive subscription rights for up to 3% of the share capital, voting is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. The resolution is adopted. 23rd resolution, delegation of authority to the Board of Directors to carry out capital increases reserved for categories of beneficiaries consisting of employees or foreign subsidiaries without shareholders' preemptive subscription rights for up to 3% of the share capital, voting is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. Resolution is adopted. 24th resolution, authorization for the Board of Directors to reduce the share capital by canceling treasury shares, voting is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. Resolution is adopted. 25th resolution, amendment to Article 26 of this articles of association related to age limit for corporate officers, the vote is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Vote is closed. The resolution is adopted. And 26th and final resolution on powers to carry out formalities, voting is open. [Voting]

[Interpreted] Voting is closed. Resolution is adopted. Now all resolutions have been put to vote, I'll give the floor back to the Chairman.

[Interpreted] Thank you very much, Alexandre, for helping us moderate all the resolutions and the vote on those resolutions. Although there might have been some disruptions, dear shareholders, I would like to warmly thank you for attending this general meeting up until the end. We have come to an end, and I apologize for some of the disruptions. But this enabled us to hear some voices that we need to hear, considering the environmental challenges that we face and I think that this is also Ben's will and Ben's teams will to put the environmental transition at the core of our group strategy. Dear shareholders, I think that you might have understood it by now, during this general meeting, how ready we are to bear the responsibility of our transformation and to put the environmental transition at the heart of our strategy. I would like to thank you for your loyalty, your support and your patience today. Thank you very much, once again, and please do not hesitate, through the Shareholders' Club, to get in touch with us. If you wish to ask other questions and get some answers from us. Once again, thank you very much. We appreciate you attending this meeting. Thank you. [Portions of this transcript that are marked [Interpreted] were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]