SAS Group traffic figures June 2006
· SAS Group carried 3,7 million passengers in June 2006, up 6,5% vs 2005.
· SAS Group load factor for June increased 2,7 p.u. to 76,6%.
· SAS Group traffic increased by 7,1% vs 2005.
Group market trends and yield development
SAS Group traffic increased by 7,1% in June and capacity was up 3,3%. Cabin factor increased by 2,7 p.u. to a record 76,6%. Number of passengers increased by 6,5%, positively affected by record number of passengers in Blue1, Spanair and airBaltic.
The trend with decreasing expected yield being offset by improved passenger load factor continues. Yield for Scandinavian Airlines in May was up 9%, positively affected by the development on intercontinental routes and active yield management to offset record jet fuel prices. In June yield is expected to be positive vs last year but the increase vs last year will be slightly weaker than for May. The market growth is strong and relatively stable, but there are still uncertainties due to the competitive situation and continued record high jet fuel prices. The continued strategy is to offset the increase through hedging, yield management and cost reductions.
Intercontinental traffic was down in June by 5,7% due to decreased capacity. SAS Group European traffic increased by 18,5% and passenger load factor increased by 4,7 p.u. primarily due to new business models and strong growth in the group airlines. Blue1 has introduced new destinations and traffic increased by 57,4% with retained load factor. Spanair continued to grow and traffic increased by 30,7%.