SAS Group's March 2011 traffic figures
- SAS Group's traffic (RPK) increased by 0.3% during March and capacity (ASK) increased 7.6% vs same period 2010.
- The passenger load factor decreased by 5 p.u. to 68.1%.
- SAS Group carried 2.3 million passengers in March, up 4.9%.
Group market trends, RASK and yield development
During February 2011, currency adjusted RASK was down 1.6% and yield was down 1.7%, in line with guidance. The improvement compared with previous months reflects a positive mix, especially on the new added capacity. For March 2011, passenger yield (change vs last year) is expected be in line with February, but due to falling load factor for March, RASK (change) is expected to be lower than February outcome. Last year's load factor was positively affected by the Easter holiday at the same time as demand on intercontinental routes was lower in March 2011. On 22 March, fuel surcharges were raised between EUR 3-5 on domestic and international routes within Europe.
The market remains unpredictable, particularly RASK development due to overcapacity in certain markets and rising jet fuel prices. Scandinavian Airlines is continuously improving its customer offering and improvements in customer satisfaction has been achieved. The implementation of the cost saving program is on track.
SAS Group product and news update
• A test of SAS Smart Pass, for check in has been rolled out
at four Scandinavian airports and has generated a very
positive response from customers. The roll out will continue
and include all lounges in Scandinavia as next step.
• On 28 March, SAS commenced daily non-stop flights
between Oslo-New York.
Scandinavian Airlines’ traffic development
• Number of passengers increased by 2.2% to 2.0 million.
• Traffic decreased 1.2% and capacity was up 6.1%.
• The load factor was down 5.1 p.u. to 69.0%.
The intercontinental traffic was down by 6.6% in March and
capacity increased by 6.7%. The traffic on Asian routes was
negatively affected by the devastating earthquake in Japan
and continued to be weak on North Atlantic routes resulting in
a total load factor decline of 10.8 p.u. to 75.5%. On European
routes, traffic was down 1.7%. Intrascandinavian traffic
increased by 4.3% but capacity increased by 14.7%, pushing
load factors down. Danish domestic traffic decreased 17.5%,
but load factors improved. Norwegian and Swedish domestic
traffic increased 8.9% and 4.8% respectively.
Widerøe and Blue1’s traffic development
Widerøe carried 218,000 passengers in March, up 21.8%,
increasing strongly on Norwegian domestic routes. The total
capacity increased with 23.1% compared to last year. The
growth in capacity and number of passengers was mainly
driven by Widerøe taking over Scandinavian Airlines' Fokker
50 routes in western Norway. In March Widerøe also
commenced operating the route Skien to Bergen. The overall
load factor was down 2.6 p.u. to 57.0%.
Blue1’s traffic continued to increase strongly by 17% during
March and number of passengers was also up by 21.6%. The
growth was strongest on European and Finnish domestic
routes due to new premium product, destinations and
frequencies. The total load factor decreased 2.9 p.u. to 62.4%.
Hele rapporten:
http://feed.ne.cision.com/wpyfs/00/00/00/00/00/14/69/8D/wkr0005.pdf
