SAS, Air Berlin defy European airline load factor improvements in April
European airlines reported a better demand environment in April, with Ryanair, easyJet, British Airways, Norwegian and Aer Lingus all in positive territory in terms of intra-European passenger volumes, although the later Easter this year was behind most of the gains.
Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, SAS, Air Berlin, Finnair and SkyEurope all lost ground.
European carriers' intra-Europe passenger numbers and passenger number growth: Apr-09
SAS and Air Berlin also reported lower load factors last month, although Air Berlin is at least showing some positive yield figures, unlike SAS.
European carriers' intra-Europe passenger load factor and passenger load factor growth: Apr-2009
Ryanair continues to press home its dominance of European aviation and is forecasting an improvement in profits this year.
European carriers' intra-Europe passenger numbers and passenger number growth: Apr-2009
Overall, the April figures could be an aberration in a downwards trend, with further capacity cutbacks considered highly likely in the months ahead.