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SAS Traffic Reports: The SAS Group Traffic figures June 2009

Dépèche transmise le 7 juillet 2009 par Business Wire

STOCKHOLM, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:

SAS Group's June traffic figures • SAS Group's traffic decreased by 14.1 % during June and seat capacity was down 14.1 % vs. 2008. • SAS Group carried 2.4 million passengers in June, down 12.9 % vs. 2008. • Total passenger load factor in June was 76.7%, unchanged vs. June 2008.

Group market trends and yield development The yield for Scandinavian Airlines in May was down by 5.3%, in line with expectations. For June 2009, the change in yield is expected to be negative in line with the change for May, which will put pressure on revenues in the 2nd Quarter. Albeit the SAS Group has hedged its jet fuel consumption within its policy and prices are lower than the previous year, the increasing jet fuel prices in combination with the weak demand adds further challenges to the industry and requires actions in order to mitigate the negative earnings’ impact. The market continues to be unpredictable and the uncertainty regarding the timing of the recovery is considerable. To address the new and unprecedented challenges, SAS has initiated additional activities and discussions with unions to address the negative development.

The SAS Group is implementing a new strategic approach – Core SAS - to secure a future profitable SAS. The strategy includes cost initiatives of approximately SEK 4.0 bn and approx 20% (ASK) capacity reduction. The implementation is well on track. In the May traffic report, SAS indicated that restructuring cost will increase compared with guidance in February due to earlier phase out of aircraft, higher early retirement ratio than expected and redelivery costs of leased aircraft. As a consequence, restructuring cost in Q2 is expected to reach approx SEK 1 bn. The estimate for the fiscal year restructuring cost will be published in connection with Q2 results. SAS Scandinavian Airlines • Total number of passengers was 2.1 million during June, a decrease by 14.0%. • Traffic decreased by 14.9 % in June. • The load factor increased by 0.1 p.u. during June.

The intercontinental traffic decreased 16.2 % and the load factor decreased 3.4 p.u. to 83.7 % as the weaker global economy affects long haul flights relatively more than short haul. Traffic on European routes decreased by 14.3% but the load factor improved by 1.9 p.u. These capacity reductions are in line with the Core SAS Strategy. The intrascandinavian traffic decreased 10.0 %. The Swedish and Norwegian domestic traffic decreased by 14.2% and 15.9% respectively, in line with capacity reductions.

Widerøe's traffic development Widerøe carried 192.000 passengers in June up 1.1% vs last year. Total capacity was down 3.1%, and 30% on Intra-Scandinavian routes. The load factor improved 3.7 p.u. vs last year to 66,9%.

Blue 1's traffic development Total passenger volumes were 12.8% lower than last year and load factor decreased by 2.5%. Traffic decreased by 5.5%. European leisure routes had a stable demand in June, with a load factor of close to 82%.

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