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PARIS — Air France-KLM’s (AF.FR) financial situation is “extremely tight” and the company incurred a substantial operating loss in 2011 for the fourth consecutive year due, among other things, to rising fuel costs, the chief executive of Air France, one of the Franco-Dutch group’s two airline divisions, said Wednesday.

Alexandre de Juniac told a French parliamentary commission that Air France-KLM’s red ink from operations last year will reach “several hundred million euros,” but declined to be more explicit as the company’s accounts are still being audited.

He also noted Air France-KLM’s deepening indebtedness. “We have been incapable of financing our investments for the past three years, as we don’t generate enough cash flow,” he told the lawmakers. Air France-KLM’s net debt widened by EUR2 billion to EUR6.5 billion last year, he said.