Air France says passenger traffic rose 3.1 percent in August

Reuters
An Air France Airbus A319 passenger jet makes its way on the tarmac before taking off at Orly airport, near Paris, August 5 2014. REUTERS/Charles Platiau

PARIS (Reuters) - Franco-Dutch airline Air France-KLM said on Monday that passenger traffic rose 3.1 percent in August, led by long-haul flights to Asia and the Americas. The passenger load factor, a measure of the portion of capacity filled, rose 1.1 percentage points to 89 percent, the carrier said in a statement. Passenger numbers rose 2.1 percent to 7.3 million last month. Cargo traffic fell 1.7 percent, with a load factor down 0.6 percentage points to 58.7 percent, the carrier added. (Reporting by Natalie Huet, editing by Louise Heavens)