Air France KLM issued a message of resilience and positivity with the airline sector facing the latest challenge as the war in the Gulf continues.

Addressing delegates at the first Airline Global Conference held by global OTA Trip.com in Europe, chief commercial officer Adriaan Den Heijer said it is prepared for the future.

“We started this year, and we thought it’s going to be a fantastic year,” said Heijer, but then he said the firm face a serious geopolitical conflict, which is still going on.

He added: “We had to turn around all our models. We had to anticipate. We had to show resilience. We are able to do it. It’s not easy.

“We need all of you in this room to make it work, but we are quite sure, as we have shown over the last more than 100 years, that we can do it and that we are also ready for the future.”

Heijer said that KLM, at its single terminal Schiphol base, was a pioneer of the hub and spoke model connecting smaller passenger flows to create an international network.

And he said that in the history of its brands it has survived many economic cycles and had to reinvent itself many time.

“I think that is the strength of a strong company, a global company like Air France KLM that would like to lead the industry, that would like to be an example, that would like to be a nice place to work, that would like to be there for our customers, for our partners.

“We would like to show trust to you. That’s the core of our DNA…we would like to work with you together. What we know as an airline, the world never stands still. It’s always developing. Look at the current situation.”

As well as the hub and spoke model, Heijer said the most important pillar for the carrier is its fleet of aircraft.  “We strongly believe in investments in new aircraft and new technology,” he said.

“In 2030, 80% of our fleet will be of the next generation: Airbus 350s, [Boeing] 787s, Airbus 320 and 321neos; new aircraft with more comfort, more premiumisation, more efficiency and more sustainability.

“Our fleet, our network, our brands – we strongly believe in product differentiation. We have been investing a lot in that over the years, in our premium comfort cabin, in our La Première cabin.

“We believe that finding the right customers with the right products, with the right network, with the right fleet, is the core of our fundamentals.

“And of course, then we have to commercialise that. Where in the past, we were selling seats, now we are selling paid options, ancillaries…we personalise.

“Retailing is hot and moving fast, very fast. And with NDC [New Distribution Capability], we have found an accelerator to make that work. Customers expect choice relevance.

“They want to feel respected, and for that, more and more we are in the game together with you also to commercialise our effort.

“Artificial intelligence will transform every aspect of our industry, from searching to booking to servicing to execution, at home, during travelling at the airport.

“We strongly believe that it’s not only a technology. It has to be combined with our people, it has to stay human centred.”

Heijer said another fundamental is sustainability and operational resilience. We have a strong sustainable agenda driven by three factors.

“One, our fleet as already mentioned. Secondly, we strongly invest in sustainable aviation fuel and in 2030 10% of our fuel on board will be sustainable.

“And last but not least, we are rolling out a lot of operational measures in fuel efficiency, reducing waste, being more conscious of climate and electricity use.”

He added: “Resilience is key. The world is changing. It’s getting more uncertain, it’s getting more volatile, and at the same time, we have to become more sustainable.

“In order to do that, resilience is the name of the game, and as already mentioned, with this long history we have as a company, we have shown that you can deal with that, and over the last weeks, we have done it again.

“We have the assets in our hands. We have the teams and day in, day out, we are taking care of that. We have the right level of resilience to make it work.”