SAS Group traffic figures October 2006

• SAS Group carried 3,6 million passengers in October 2006, up 6,0% vs 2005.
• SAS Group load factor in October decreased 1,1 p.u. to 71,9%.
• SAS Group traffic increased by 5,1% vs 2005.

Group market trends and yield development
SAS Group traffic increased by 5,1% in October. Due to strong increase of capacity in Blue1, airBaltic and Spanair capacity was up 6,7%. Passenger load factor did not reach last year’s record high and decreased by 1,1 p.u. to 71,9%. Number of passengers increased by 6,0%.

Load factors have stabilized on a higher level while yield is improving. Yield for Scandinavian Airlines in September was up 7%, positively affected by yield management, partly to offset jet fuel prices and focus on dynamic traffic planning. In October yield is expected to be positive vs last year and the increase to be higher than in September.
The market growth is good and yield environment has improved due to strong macro development. There are still no signs of any market slowdown in the air travel market, but there are uncertainties due to the competitive situation and the jet fuel price development.

Intercontinental traffic decreased 6,3% in October. SAS Group European traffic increased by 13,9% due to new business models and strong market growth. Passenger load factor was in line with last year. Blue1 introduced new destinations and traffic increased by 68% with improved load factor. Spanair continued to grow and traffic increased by 23,9% and load factor improved 2,6 p.u. to 69,2%. airBaltic has strong growth and traffic was up 29,5% and improved load factor by 1,7 p.u.