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The SAS Group Traffic figures August 2010

September 7, 2010 11:00

SAS Group’s August 2010 traffic figures

• SAS Group’s traffic (RPK) increased by 7.0% during August and capacity (ASK) was increased 4.2% vs same period in 2009.

• The load factor improved to 78.2%, record high for August.

• SAS Group carried 2.2 million passengers in August, up  7.3% vs. same period in 2009.

Group market trends and yield development

The currency adjusted yield for Scandinavian Airlines in July 2010 was down by 3.4%, in line with indications.  Currency adjusted RASK was as a result of the improved load factor up 0.7%. The yield is affected negatively by a routemix effect from the relatively strong performance on intercontinental routes versus short haul routes, but also due to overcapacity and price pressure in some markets. The RASK outlook for August is uncertain and indicate continued stable RASK vs last year. The yield change for August is expected to be negative.

The market continues to be unpredictable but a recovery has been noted on both intercontinental routes and certain short haul routes, however the uncertainty still remains in particular on the yield development going forward. SAS has as a result initiated yield enhancing measures to offset the negative yield development. The implementation of the Core SAS strategy including cost saving initiatives is on track.

SAS Group product and news update

• SAS was the world’s most punctual major airline in August with arrival punctuality above 90%.

• In August Scandinavian Airlines launched the biggest sales campaign ever in Scandinavia with 1 million low fare tickets to improve load factors. Indicative results show a doubling of bookings compared to the campaign last year.

Scandinavian Airlines’ traffic development

• Number of passengers increase by 7.1% to 1.9 million.

• The traffic increased 6.5% and capacity was up 3.4%.

• The load factor was up by 2.3 p.u. to 79.3%.

The intercontinental traffic grew by 10% in August and capacity increased by 4.5% resulting in a strong load factor of 94%. Business Class continued to grow more than the overall traffic. On European routes, traffic was up 3.7% with a stronger growth in Business Class traffic. Traffic on intrascandinavian routes continued to perform well and increased by 11% with load factors at 70.9%. Danish domestic traffic increased 10.4%. Norwegian domestic traffic was flat and affected by over capacity and fierce competition and transfer of turbo prop production to Widerøe, but due to disciplined capacity control, load factors improved. Swedish domestic traffic increased by a strong13.4% and improved load factor by 11 p.u.

Widerøe and Blue1’s traffic development

Widerøe carried 190,000 passengers in August, up 9.9%. The capacity increased by 9.1% and traffic grew 8.4%, resulting in a 0.4 p.u. lower load factor. The capacity increase can be explained by SAS Fokker 50 operation replaced by Widerøe Q400 combined with growth on other domestic and European routes.

Blue1’s traffic increased by 14.8% during August, particularly driven by growth on international routes with additional frequencies to/from London and new routes to Berlin and Brussels. Number of passengers grew on routes within Scandinavian despite increased competition. Total number of passengers increased by 6.7% and the load factor reached 70.7%, up 1.2 p.u.

For further details, see attached document.

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