SAS traffic figures - October 2017

• Scheduled traffic (RPK) decreased 3% and the capacity (ASK) was up 2%.

• The load factor decreased by 3.8 p.u. versus last year to 74.9%.

• Scheduled number of passengers amounted to 2.6 million in October.

• The preliminary currency adjusted yield and PASK increased 9% and 4% respectively in October 2017 vs. last year. The nominal yield and PASK increased 7% and 2% respectively in October 2017 vs. last year.

Market development and capacity outlook

After a robust development of the seasonal demand during the summer, demand has shifted back to more business purpose traveling. In line with previous months, SAS’s overall load factor declined versus last year.

The competition remains very intensive. After a summer with modest capacity growth in Scandinavia, the market capacity growth is expected to accelerate during the autumn and winter 2017.

In fiscal year 2017/2018, SAS has an indicative plan to increase capacity (ASK) by around 1–3%, driven by longer European routes and the fact that the Airbus A320neo has more seats than the aircraft being replaced.  

SAS scheduled traffic development in October  

SAS increased its scheduled capacity in October by 2% and the traffic decreased by 3%, resulting in a load factor of 74.9%. This was 3.8 p.u. lower than last year.  Last year’s load factor was positively affected by SAS’s successful 70 year anniversary campaign. The load factor this year is therefore more in line with previous years’ load factors.  

SAS’s intercontinental capacity was reduced by 3.1% and the traffic decreased 7.8%. Going forward, the capacity on long haul routes will decrease slightly as one wet leased Boeing 737 has been phased out.

The traffic on SAS’s European/Intrascandinavian routes increased by 0.3%. At the same time the capacity was increased 5.2%. The growth was driven by the leisure oriented routes in Europe.

On SAS’s domestic routes, the capacity was increased by 4.3%, driven by higher capacity on Swedish and Danish domestic routes. The traffic increased by 0.4%. 

The above information is consistent with the indication announced by SAS on 3 November.