SAS Group's December 2011 traffic figures

 • SAS Group carried 1.9 million passengers in December, up 1.7%.

• SAS Group’s traffic (RPK) decreased by 1.4% during December while capacity (ASK) increased 2.8% vs same period last year.

• The passenger load factor decreased by 3 p.u. in December to 70%.

Group market trends, RASK and yield development

Traffic growth continued to be good on short and medium haul routes during December, but total group traffic decreased due to lower volumes on intercontinental routes and Blue1’s refocus on shorter routes in Finland/Scandinavia. The relatively positive development on short/medium haul routes resulted in growing passenger numbers.

During November 2011, currency adjusted yield was down by 1.5% versus previous year and RASK was down 3.8% as expected. For December 2011, (change vs last year), the yield and RASK are expected to be more negative than for November.

The response to market campaigns is still good and forward booking levels are above last year’s level going into 2012, but premium bookings are weaker. Overall, the market growth continues to be good, but remains unpredictable due to added capacity in certain markets, risk in the global economy and continued high jet fuel prices. This adds uncertainty to the yield and RASK outlook going forward.