SAS Group traffic figures January 2006

• SAS Group carried 2,5 million passengers in January 2006, up 8,4% vs 2005.
• SAS Group load factor for January was up 6,5 p.u. to 63,5%.
• Total passenger traffic (RPK) increased by 6,1% in January 2006 vs 2005.

Group market trends and yield development
SAS Group traffic increased in January by 6,1% and as capacity decreased 4,8% this resulted in an increased cabin factor of 6,5 p.u. to 63,5%. Number of passengers increased by 8,4% positively affected by introduction of new business models as from September 1, 2005. Illegal industrial actions by pilots in Scandinavian Airlines Danmark and high sick leave rate in SAS Braathens affected group traffic negatively by 4-5% in January. As from January 2006 SAS Group includes award passengers as an adjustment to industry standards. Historical figures have also been restated to include award passengers.

The trend with decreasing yield being offset by improved passenger load factor seems to continue in January. Yield for Scandinavian Airlines in December came out below guidance at –10% compared with 2004. Stronger currency effects than expected and strong comparable figures due to different holiday patterns are the main reasons. Yield change for January is expected to be better than December.
Some signs of reduced capacity in the marketplace have emerged and the market growth is relatively stable. However there are still uncertainties in the marketplace due to the competitive situation and continued high jet fuel prices.

Intercontinental traffic was down in January, but load factor improved. SAS Group European traffic increased by 19,6% and passenger load factor increased by 9,4 p.u. primarily due to new business models and strong growth in Spanair. Spanair’s traffic was up 39,9% and load factor increased by 8,7 p.u. to 57,3%. Blue1 in Finland continued to grow and traffic increased by 19,5%. airBaltic developed well and traffic was up 64,8%.
SAS Group year-end report 2005 will be released on February 9, at 08.00 CET.

Scandinavian Airlines Businesses
• Scandinavian Airlines passenger load factor improved by 6,6 p.u. to 65,9%.
• Illegal industrial actions by pilots in SAS Danmark and high pilot sick leaves in SAS Braathens had a negative impact on traffic.
• The introduction of Scandinavian Airlines new business model has been positively received in the market.
• Traffic on European routes in January increased by 3,8%. Traffic on intrascandinavian routes was up 3,7% and load factor increased by 6,5 p.u. to 57,4%.

Scandinavian Airlines International
Total intercontinental traffic was down 6,1% vs last year. Capacity was reduced by 11,1% due to one aircraft less on Atlantic routes. Total load factor was up by 4,0 p.u. to 76,9%.

Scandinavian Airlines Danmark’s traffic increased by 1,1% although capacity was reduced by 20,6% due to the pilot actions. Passenger load factor increased by a strong 13,1 p.u. to 60,9%. On European routes traffic increased by 2,2% and load factor improved by 15,2 p.u.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