Air France-KLM reported a 0.5 percent rise in passenger traffic and higher yields in September, but a 12.2 percent fall in cargo highlighted a drop in economically sensitive freight volumes between Europe and Asia.
The Franco-Dutch airline group said its passenger load factor fell 1.4 percentage points to 80.9 percent.
"The group nevertheless recorded an increase in yield excluding currency impact," Air France-KLM said in a statement.
Passenger traffic data was affected in part by an unfavourable comparison with September last year when France had hosted the Rugby World Cup, it said.
Traffic fell 2 percent in Europe where the load factor retreated 2.4 percentage points to 72.5 percent.
On the North American market, traffic edged up 0.3 percent and the load factor rose 0.8 percentage points to 83.8 percent. South American traffic was strong, up 10.1 percent with planes packed 90.6 percent full, up 1.2 percentage points.
Passenger traffic to and from Asia rose 1.4 percent but lagged an increase in the number of available seats, driving down the load factor 3.3 percentage points to 86.4 percent.
On the cargo side, Air France-KLM said global traffic fell 12.2 percent with capacity down 3.2 percent.
"The decline was mainly due to a marked slowdown in flows, in particular with Asia," the statement said.
The cargo load factor fell 6.3 points to 61.1 percent.
The figures came after Europe's largest low-cost airlines easyJet and Ryanair reported sharp increases in September passenger volumes.
Traditional airlines have been lifting prices to protect the yield on premium seats, while low-cost airlines aggressively pursue traffic growth.
Also on Tuesday, Ireland's Aer Lingus said passenger numbers rose 3.7 percent in September, led by a 4.2 percent boost on short-haul routes.
Air Berlin said its September passenger count fell 3.1 percent and the load factor fell 1.7 percent points to 82.5 percent.
