Traffic figures - December 2016

• Scheduled traffic (RPK) increased 19.1% and the capacity (ASK) was up 12.4%.

• The load factor improved by 4.1 p.u. versus last year to 72.2%.

• SAS carried 2 million scheduled passengers in December, up 10.5% vs. last year.

• The preliminary currency adjusted yield and PASK were down 13% and 8% in December 2016. The nominal yield and PASK were down 11% and 6% respectively.

Market development
Although the demand is growing, the operating environment has become more challenging. As noted previously, the yield has declined more than anticipated during 2016. In addition, during the autumn jet fuel prices have started to increase combined with an unfavorable USD appreciation versus the SEK. In addition, the introduced aviation tax in Norway has had a negative effect on the yield development.

In 2016/2017, SAS’s total capacity growth (ASK) will amount to 6-8%. The growth will be greatest on the intercontinental routes and on the European leisure routes. The increase will primarily be driven by a full-year effect from the new intercontinental routes that commenced during 2015/2016 and the fact that the Airbus A320neo is larger than the aircraft it will replace. The number of flights is expected to increase by about 2%.

SAS scheduled traffic development in December  
SAS increased its scheduled capacity in December by 12.4% and the traffic grew 19.1%. The overall load factor was 72.2%, up 4.1 p.u. versus last year. The load factor improved in all geographical areas with strongest developments on SAS’s intercontinental routes and international routes within Europe.

SAS intercontinental traffic increased 32% and the capacity was up 24.1%. The growth was driven by the new routes to/from Los Angeles and Miami.

The traffic on the European/Intrascandinavian routes increased by 12.6%. The growth was strongest on leisure oriented routes outside Scandinavia.

On domestic routes, the capacity was increased by 6.5% and the traffic was up by 9.0%.