In March 2023, Icelandair‘s passengers were 255 thousand, compared to 184 thousand in March last year, which is a 38% increase. Capacity in March was 27% higher than last year. March was a record month in terms of ticket sales.
Passengers on international flights were 230 thousand, compared to 161 thousand in March 2022, an increase of 43%. Passengers to Iceland were 118 thousand and 45 thousand from Iceland. Via passengers were around 67 thousand. On-time performance on international flights was 82%. The load factor on international flights was 81.8%, an increase of 8.2 ppt year-on-year. The load factor was especially high on flights to and from North America, at 86.7%. This is a record load factor for North America flights in March.
Passengers on domestic flights were around 25 thousand, compared to 23 thousand in March 2022. On-time performance was 90%. Load factor on domestic flights was 76.3%.
Sold block hours in the leasing operation increased by 20%. Freight measured in Freight Ton Kilometers increased by 20% compared to March last year, due to increased capacity with the introduction of a Boeing 767 widebody into the cargo fleet at the end of last year.