KLM INCOME DOWN, CARGO TRAFFIC UP

   KLM Royal Dutch Airlines reported a 63-percent decline in income before extraordinary items to 77 million guilders ($37.4 million) in its first
fiscal quarter ending June 30.
   Net income, including proceeds from the sale of the airline’s interest
in Galileo International, rose to NLG 975 million from NLG 212 million.
   Cargo traffic at the Dutch carrier increased 7 percent to 988 million
revenue-ton-kilometers in the quarter. But yield per RTK fell 6 percent to
NLG 48.7 cents.
   Separately, KLM reported strong cargo traffic growth in July,
particularly on routes to Asia. Asia/Pacific traffic jumped 19 percent in
July. Mideast and Southeast Asia traffic rose 13 percent, while
transatlantic business increased just 1 percent compared to last year.
   Overall, KLM saw a 10-percent increase in freight traffic to 360.6
million RTKs in July, and cargo load factor improved year-over-year by
nearly 6 percentage points to 70.1 percent.