Monthly Traffic and Capacity Data - March 2001

1. March in brief Passenger traffic (RPK) was up 5,0% in March. Overall capacity (ASK) was up 5,5% and passenger load decreased slightly. Traffic in Business Class increased by 7%. Overall traffic development in March was slightly weaker than expected, but traffic growth particularly on European routes continued to develop well. Also, overall traffic growth in Business Class was satisfactory. The North American market showed a weaker demand in Economy Class, but the growth in Business Class continued very well. · Total passenger traffic (RPK) increased by 5,0% in March 2001 vs. 2000. · The number of passengers was up 2,4%. · Business Class traffic was up 7% and Economy Class was up 4%. · The passenger load factor decreased to 65,7% from 66,0%. 2. Summary 1st Quarter 2001 Overall, 1st Quarter showed a somewhat softer traffic growth rate compared with previously expressed expectations. Yields have developed better than expected due to strong Business Class growth and as well price adjustments in certain markets. 3. Full year comment - capacity adjustments The softening in some of our main markets as a consequence of the weaker economy in the US implies that the growth expectations for passenger traffic (RPK) in 2001 of 9% will not be fully met. Measures have been taken and our capacity growth will be adjusted down by approx 2 p.u. compared with previously announced capacity (ASK) growth of 8% for the full year. Passenger traffic is expected to grow in line with the revised capacity increase or slightly above. Yields were better than expected in the 1st Quarter and the view of the full year is better than the earlier announced expected increase of 1-2% for the full year. The previously announced expectations for the full 2001 result provided on February 13, significantly better than last year (income before tax, excluding gains from asset sales) remains unchanged. TOTAL SYSTEM MAR01 MAR00 CHANGE JAN-MAR01 JAN-MAR00 CHANGE ASK (Mill.) 3 040 2 880 +5,5% 8 558 8 253 +3,7% RPK (Mill.) 1 997 1 902 +5,0% 5 286 4 992 +5,9% Passenger load 65,7% 66,0% -0,3 p u 61,8% 60,5% +1,3 p u factor C-class share 31,9% 31,4% +0,6 p u 32,3% 31,2% +1,0 p u (RPK) Total no. of 2,067 2,018 +2,4% 5,482 5,314 +3,2% passengers (Mill.) p u = percentage units PASSENGER TRAFFIC MAR 01 vs. MAR 00 JAN-MAR 01 vs. JAN-MAR 00 AND CAPACITY PER ROUTE AREA (CHANGE): Traffic Capacity (ASK) Traffic (RPK) Capacity (ASK) (RPK) Intercontinental +4,3% +1,4% +5,8% +0,7% Europe +6,7% +10,8% +6,5% +6,6% Intra- +4,2% +4,2% +5,5% +3,6% Scandinavian Denmark1) +4,3% -2,4% +2,3% -1,6% (domestic) Norway (domestic) +4,4% -3,5% +4,1% -3,1% Sweden (domestic) +3,7% +9,1% +6,1% +9,2% 1) Incl. Greenland 2. Passenger Traffic and Capacity per route area - March 2001 Passenger load factor on Intercontinental routes increased by 2,3 p.u in March 2001 vs. 2000. Business Class developed well, but traffic in Economy Class on the North Atlantic was slightly weaker. Traffic to/ from Asia continued well. European traffic increased by 6,7% in March 2001. As capacity increased by 10,8% the passenger load factor fell by 2,3 p.u. Positive development was noted on traffic to/ from Germany, Czech Republic and Russia, while traffic to/from the U.K. was slightly softer. On the Intrascandinavian routes traffic between Oslo and Stockholm developed particularly well. Weaker development was noted on feeder routes, partly due to DeHaviland Q400 introduction problems. Danish domestic traffic developed well with 4,3% traffic growth and an increase in passenger load factor by 4,4 p.u.. The Norwegian domestic routes developed stronger than previous months and passenger load factor increased by 4,5% p.u. as capacity was reduced further on this route area. Swedish domestic traffic developed weaker than previous months, and the passenger load factor decreased by 3,2 p.u. For further information, please contact SAS Investor Relations: Johan Törngren / Sture Stølen + 46 8 797 ext 1451 or 1954 Fax no: + 46 8 85 58 76 e-mail: investor.relations@sas.se APPENDIX - Traffic, capacity, passenger load factors and number of passengers per route area. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/04/09/20010409BIT00110/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/04/09/20010409BIT00110/bit0001.pdf