KLM should not be limited in its growth, junior environment minister Sharon Dijksma told Air France KLM chairman Jean-Marc Janaillac in a meeting in Paris on Monday, the Telegraaf reported on Tuesday.

The meeting was called after the publication of the combined airline’s 2016 results where it was apparent that KLM was accounting for most of the profitability. The Dutch government has a 5.9% stake in KLM. Dijksma said the meeting was a ‘business discussion’.

Last week it was revealed that Janaillac had received an 18% increase in his salary in 2016 despite the weak financial condition of the airline.

‘We discussed the future of Air France KLM, with emphasis on the need for improved earnings and lower costs,’ Dijksma told the paper

Centralisation

KLM’s works council is concerned about new centralisation plans of the combine even though it was agreed earlier that KLM would continue to operate as an independent company. Dijksma confirmed that the French would abide by earlier agreements and that flights and jobs would not be siphoned away.

KLM expanded considerably last year because its employees worked more hours, a situation impossible at Air France which operated fewer flights as a result.

Air France has plans to launch a budget intercontinental subsidiary, provisionally caalled Boost. But the project has stalled because unions for its cabin personnel have threatened to strike.