In light of having a worse than expected quarterly loss, the well known carrier Air France has unveiled its latest plans to cut another 1,700 jobs next year. The carrier says that these cuts are having to be made in light of the fuel hedging losses and poor cargo traffic that has been seen because of the recession. Overall, the airline will have cut 3,000 jobs in the year to March 31, 2010.

Air France, which just so happens to be Europe’s largest airline, said that it reported a net loss of about €147 million in the quarter ending September. This is, of course, being compared to the loss of €27 million, which was seen in the same period last year. Air France went on to say that its passenger operations would have actually turned a profit in this period had it not been for the negative effects of the fuel hedges.

Passenger revenues were down almost 17.2 percent to €4.34 billion. However, the effects were largely offset by a 4.4 percent reduction in capacity overall. The Air France chief executive, Pierre-Henri, said that the company’s performance was improving after very deep losses in the first quarter. This is a result of adapting very quickly to the changing environment.

The carrier went on to say that revenues have fallen 20 percent to €10.8 billion for the six months to the end off September. The carrier fell into an operating loss of €543 million in the first half against a profit of €592 million last year.