The SAS Group Traffic figures December 2006

More passengers than previous years· SAS Group carried 38,6 million passengers in 2006, up 6,3% vs 2005. In December the number of passengers increased by 0,3% to 2,7 million.
· Total load factor decreased 1,2 p.u. to 66,1% in Dec.
· SAS Group capacity decreased by 0,5% in December and the traffic decreased 2,2% vs 2006.

Group market trends and yield development

SAS Group traffic decreased by 2,2% in December, but the number of passengers was almost unchanged. Capacity was down 2,2% due to lower planned capacity during Christmas when demand is expected lower. Passenger load factor in December decreased by 1,2 p.u. to 66,1%. For the full year, the load factor increased by 2,4 p.u. to 71,5% which is higher than previous years.
Load factors are generally slightly lower while yield is positive. Yield for Scandinavian Airlines in November was up 12,9%, positively affected by yield management, focus on capacity management and easier comparable figures. In December the yield is expected to be positive vs last year and the increase to be higher than in November as a result of capacity management in December.

There are no signs of any market slowdown in the air travel market. The total market growth is good and yield environment has improved due to strong macro development, but there are still uncertainties due to the competitive situation and the jet fuel price development. It is therefore necessary to continue focusing full energy on cost-cutting measures.

Intercontinental capacity decreased in December by 13,3% and traffic by 13,5%. SAS Group European traffic increased by 5,2% due to new business models and strong market demand. Passenger load factor was slightly lower than last year.

Blue1 introduced new destinations and traffic increased by 49,0%. Spanair continued to grow and traffic increased by 12,4% but load factor was down 1,5 p.u. to 58,5%. airBaltic increased the capacity by 33,5% which was not absorbed by the market and the load factor was down 6,8 p.u. vslast year.

SAS Scandinavian Airlines
· Scandinavian Airlines cabin factor was up slightly and reached 70,3%.
· Total capacity was down by 9,1% in December due to planned reduced capacity during the Christmas holiday.

For further information Please contact
VP,Head of SAS Group Investor Relations Sture Stølen
+ 46 8 797 1451 sture.stolen@sas.se

Homepage: www.sasgroup.net