SAS Group pax down 14.1% in Jul-2009

SAS Group passenger numbers down 14.1% - traffic highlights in Jul-2009:

• Passenger numbers: 2.0 million, -14.1% year-on-year;
  • Scandinavian Airlines: 1.7 million, -16.1%;
  • Widerøe: 166,000, +7.8%;
  • Blue1: 96,000, -7.4%;
• Passenger load factor: 83.8%, +3.6 ppts;
  • Scandinavian Airlines: 84.5%, +3.7 ppts;
  • Widerøe: 67.3%, +6.9 ppts;
  • Blue1: 82.6%, +2.3 ppts;
• Jun-2009 yield:
  • Scandinavian Airlines: -7.6%.

SAS Group: "The yield for Scandinavian Airlines in June was down by 7.6%, putting pressure on the revenues for Q2. For Jul-2009, the change in yield is expected to be slightly less negative than May/June. The summer leisure traffic overall developed well which helped to improve the load factor with 3.6 ppts. The higher jet fuel prices in combination with the weak demand adds further challenges to the industry and requires actions in order to mitigate the negative earnings' impact. To address the unprecedented challenges, SAS management and Board evaluates further measures to reduce cost and improve the efficiency. The market continues to be unpredictable and the uncertainty regarding the timing of the recovery is considerable," Company statement. Source: SAS Group, 07-Aug-2009.