SAS Group traffic figures April 2006

• SAS Group carried 3,1 million passengers in April 2006, up 1,5% vs 2005.
• SAS Group load factor for March increased 6,3 p.u. to 73,4%.
• SAS Group traffic increased by 6,4% vs 2005.

Group market trends and yield development
SAS Group traffic increased by 6,4% in April and capacity decreased 2,7%. Traffic figures are negatively affected by the Easter holiday and a conflict with the cabin crew union, which affected SAS Braathen’s traffic in Norway for about three days days. Cabin factor increased by 6,3 p.u. to 73,4%. Number of passengers increased by 1,5%, which is less than previous months due to Easter and the conflict.
The trend with decreasing yield being offset by improved passenger load factor continues. Yield for Scandinavian Airlines in March was 7,2% higher than last year.

Due to the Easter holiday in April, yield is expected to be negative vs last year. Combined March and April yield change vs last year are expected to be in line with or somewhat weaker than January/ February.

The market growth is relatively stable, but there are still uncertainties in the marketplace due to the competitive situation and continued record high jet fuel prices. The strategy is to offset the increase through hedging, yield management and cost actions.

Intercontinental traffic was down in April due to decreased capacity. SAS Group European traffic increased by 22,5% and passenger load factor increased by 10,1 p.u. primarily due to new business models and strong growth in the group airlines. Blue1 has introduced seven new destinations and traffic increased by 58,4% and load factor by 6,3 p.u. to 66,6%. Spanair continued to grow and traffic increased by 29,9%, positively affected by Easter.

Scandinavian Airlines Businesses
• Scandinavian Airlines passenger load factor improved by 6,0 p.u. to 76,1%.
• Number of passengers and traffic was negatively affected by a conflict in SAS Braathens by approximately 1,5%.
• Traffic on European routes in April increased by 12,8% and load factor improved by 12,0 p.u. to 76,0%. Traffic on intrascandinavian routes was up 0,5% and load factor increased by 7,3 p.u. to 67,6%.