SAS Group's April 2012 traffic figure
• SAS Group carried 2.3 million passengers in April.SAS Group’s capacity (ASK) increased by 6.2%.
• SAS Group's traffic (RPK) increased by 7.9%.
• The passenger load factor increased by 1.2 p.u. to a record level for April of 75.5%.
Group market trends, RASK and yield development
Traffic growth continued to be good on most routes during April and capacity was increased to reflect the stronger demand. Traffic responded well and the Group’s load factor improved.
During March 2012, currency adjusted yield (Scandinavian Airlines and Blue1) was down by 3.8% versus previous year and RASK was down 0.5%. For April 2012, (change vs last year), the yield and RASK development is expected to be similar to the outcome in March.
The response to market campaigns is still good and forward booking levels are above last year’s level, but premium bookings are weaker on certain routes. 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. The SAS Group plans to gradually increase capacity in line with the seasonally stronger demand. The total increase of the capacity is approximately 5% in 2012 vs 2011 as 28 new routes will be launched.