Dutch flag carrier KLM has confirmed it wants to bring in a salary freeze of at least two years, following reports by RTL News.

The plan is included in a letter sent by KLM to the 10 unions involved in the talks, ahead of the start of this year’s pay negotiations, RTL said. The current pay deal for ground, cabin and flying crew ends in February.

KLM is suggesting a salary freeze because, said RTL, it claims to have no financial room for a pay rise. Wages, KLM says, have gone up by 25% since 2019 and now are “higher when compared with other airlines and big Dutch companies”.

The airline is also facing higher maintenance costs and Schiphol fees are set to go up 37% in the coming years.

Cabin crew and pilots unions VNC and VNV declined to comment on the KLM letter, saying they would “keep their reactions for the negotiating table”.

KLM booked net profit of €396 million in the most recent quarter but this is a “historic low”, the company said at the presentation of the figures. Parent firm Air France-KLM booked net profit of €824 million in the third quarter of this year.

Among the other cost saving measures on the table are scrapping the alcohol allowance for crew on overnight stays and booking cheaper hotels. The airline also wants to talk to pilots about later retirement, RTL said.