SAS Group traffic figures - July 2004

The SAS Group Traffic figures July 2004 Traffic continues to improve · Total passenger traffic (RPK) increased by 9,2% in July 2004 vs 2003. · The SAS Group transported 2,7million passengers in July 2004 vs 2,5 million in 2003, an increase of 4,7%. · Overall group passenger load factor improved by 1,1 p.u to 71,7% for July 2004 vs. 2003. · Scandinavian Airlines yield for June was down 7,4%. · Braathens showed record load factor of 73,5% · Spanair showed strong growth of 17,8% on Spanish domestic routes with gained market shares Market trends and yield development Group total traffic volumes continued to develop positively with a traffic growth of 9,2% that also resulted in improved passenger load factor in a market characterized by fierce competition. The dramatic yield fall experienced in April and May stabilized in June also as a result of the new measures implemented including a fuel charge and other yield optimization. Yields for Scandinavian Airlines in June was down 7,4% vs 2003. Yields for July will be reported next month, but indications show a continued reduced pressure compared with June. In general, all airlines in the group showed improved growth and passenger load factors. Particularly strong is the development on European, intercontinental and intrascandinavian routes. In July Intrascandinavian traffic grew with 6,4% and cabin factor improved with 2,1 p.u. for the SAS Group in a market characterized by improving demand but large overcapacity. Spanair's traffic increased in July by 11,9% with improved load factor. Braathens' traffic increased 13,9% in July in combination with record load factor of 73,5%. During 2nd Quarter 2004 Scandinavian Airlines experienced yield reductions in a magnitude that has not been experienced before. Actions such as fuel charge, selective price adjustments and active yield management are already taking effect and yield indications for Scandinavian Airlines for July shows further improvement compared with June. Improvements in general demand and good traffic growth can be noted. The outlook for the yield is more positive, but due to the situation with continued overcapacity and the competitive situation with continued potential price pressure, the overall outlook still remains cautious. Scandinavian Airlines · Scandinavian Airlines traffic (RPK) increased by 6,5% in July 2004 compared with 2003. · Scandinavian Airlines passenger load factor decreased by 0,5 p.u. to 74,0% Demand on the long haul routes continued to be strong especially on the North Atlantic routes. Traffic on the European routes was up 9,8%. Snowflake showed a traffic increase of 34% and had a load factor of appr. 80%. The production disturbances in Copenhagen during July had very limited effect on production or traffic. The number of flights to/ from Denmark increased by 12% and ASK increased by 11%. Intrascandinavian traffic developed well and traffic was up 8,0%. Domestic traffic in Denmark had a strong development and increased 14,5%. Domestic traffic decreased in both Norway and Sweden as an effect of stricter seasonal capacity adjustments. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2004/08/06/20040806BIT00050/wkr0001.pdf The full report