• Ongoing increase in passenger volume on intercontinental routes: 7.6% passenger growth
• Weak demand in Russia, Ukraine and the crisis regions in the Middle East negatively impacts earnings
A total of more than 10.4 million passengers flew with Austrian Airlines in the period January to November 2014, corresponding to a slight decline of 0.6 percent from the prior-year level. Passenger growth of 7.6 percent could be achieved on intercontinental flights, in contrast to a drop of 2.0 percent for flight traffic on the European continent. The political crises in the Ukraine and the Middle East led to short-term flight cancellations and flight service reductions. Overall, capacity was expanded by 3.9 percent on the basis of an additional Boeing 777 and the expansion to North America. Revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) were up by 4.5 percent in the first eleven months of the year. As a result, capacity utilization (passenger load factor) in this period rose by 0.4 percentage points to 79.2 percent.
“The crisis regions in the Middle East, Russia and the Ukraine continued to dampen demand in November. However, looking at the year as a whole, the strong growth on long-haul routes succeeded in offsetting the restrained demand in Europe. As a consequence, passenger volume could be maintained at the same level as in the previous year”, says Austrian Airlines CCO Andreas Otto.
In the month of November 2014 alone, about 769,300 passengers flew with Austrian Airlines. The 8.3 percent decrease in a year-on-year comparison is mainly attributable to the crisis regions of Russia, the Ukraine and the Middle East. On balance, capacity was reduced by 1.9 percent, and revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) were down by 5.9 percent. Accordingly, capacity utilization (passenger load factor) fell by 1.7 percentage points to 71.8 percent.
Europe
In November 2014, Austrian Airlines carried about 642,400 passengers in Europe, a decrease of 9.3 percent from the previous year. This development is primarily due to weak demand for flights to Russia and the Ukraine. The passenger load factor fell by 3.1 percentage points to 73.2 percent.
In the period January to November 2014, about 8.8 million passengers flew with Austrian Airlines in Europe, corresponding to a drop of 2.0 percent below the comparable period of 2013. The passenger load factor was down by 0.4 percentage points to 76.8 percent.
Intercontinental
In November 2014, Austrian Airlines carried a total of approximately 126,900 passengers on its intercontinental flights or 2.3 percent fewer passengers than in November of 2013. The passenger load factor fell by 4.5 percentage points to 74.2 percent.
In the period January to November 2014, more than 1.6 million passengers were carried on intercontinental flights operated by Austrian Airlines. This represents a 7.6 percent rise in passenger volume compared to the prior-year level. The passenger load factor was up by 0.9 percentage points to 81.2 percent.
