The SAS Group Traffic figures - July 2013

• SAS Group’s capacity (ASK) was up by 15.1% as capacity was increased on leisure routes to southern Europe.
• The Group’s traffic (RPK) increased by 12.2%.
• The SAS Group’s load factor decreased by 2.1 p.u. to 83.9%.
• SAS Group carried 2.4 million passengers in July, up 5% vs last year.

Group market trends, RASK and yield development 
One of SAS’ strategic objectives is to create necessary operational conditions, in terms of costs and flexibility, to more effectively compete also in the growing leisure market. SAS major restructuring plan (4XNG) enables SAS customers, even during holiday periods, to fly with SAS to competitive prices. The traffic development in July shows that SAS delivers according to its plan. Traffic growth rates were particularly strongly on European and intercontinental routes, derived from an overall capacity increase by approximately 15%.

In line with SAS guidance, currency adjusted yield (Scandinavian Airlines) in June 2013 was up 2.2% and RASK was down 0.2% versus previous year. In July 2013 the change in yield and RASK vs. last year is expected to be negative due to the increased number of longer leisure routes during the holiday season.

Overall, the market develops according to SAS expectations. Despite the fact that the yield environment has been somewhat more stable in 2013, the SAS Group continues to predict a negative RASK trend for the full financial year 2012/13. Throughout the summer, SAS has commenced flights on 32 new routes and in total plans to open 52 new routes during calendar year 2013. The capacity increase for the financial year 2012/13 is expected to be approximately 5-6%.