August 8, 2017 11:00 / Capital market, SAS Traffic News.
• Scheduled traffic (RPK) increased 6.7% and the capacity (ASK) was up 8.8%.
• The load factor decreased by 1.7 p.u. versus last year to 86.5%.
• Scheduled number of passengers increased by 2.2% to 2.5 million passengers in July, the highest number of passengers that SAS has transported in July.
• The preliminary currency adjusted yield increased 1% and the PASK decreased 1% in July 2017 vs. last year. The nominal yield increased 2% and the nominal PASK was unchanged vs. last year.
Market development
Despite growing demand and a somewhat more stable yield development, the yield/PASK is at historically low levels and the competition continues to be intensive. However, during May-July the change in the underlying yield/PASK has been slightly positive when adjusting for the increased stage length as well as the impact from larger aircraft. The longer stage length and larger aircraft also reduce the unit cost.
During July, the demand developed in line with previous months with stable traffic growth across SAS’s geographical regions. At the same time the USD has gradually decreased versus the SEK, which will have a positive effect on SAS’s earnings.
In fiscal year 2016/2017, SAS’s total capacity growth (ASK) will amount to 6-8%. The growth will primarily be driven by a full-year effect from the new intercontinental routes that commenced during 2015/2016, increased production on European leisure routes and the fact that the Airbus A320neo is larger than the aircraft it replaces. The number of flights is expected to increase by about 1%.
SAS scheduled traffic development in July
SAS increased its scheduled capacity in July by 8.8% and the traffic grew by 6.7%, resulting in a load factor of 86.5%. This is 1.7 p.u. lower than last year, mainly due to tighter yield management.
SAS’s intercontinental traffic increased 6.0% and the capacity was up 8.9% versus last year.
The traffic on SAS’s European/Intrascandinavian routes increased by 8.3%. This was driven by a 15% increase in traffic on leisure oriented routes in Europe and increased traffic to/from Sweden.
On SAS’s domestic routes, the capacity was increased by 3.3%, driven by the new route to the Faroe Islands. The traffic increased by 1.6%, resulting in a somewhat lower load factor mainly attributable to the Swedish domestic market.
