Passenger growth, unit revenues and passenger yield showed good development in February as COVID-19 had a limited impact. Due to the outbreak, SAS notes a reduced demand going forward and adjusts its route network and capacity accordingly.
Total capacity (ASK) and revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) increased by 1.4% and 0.5%, respectively, compared to last year. Currency adjusted unit revenue increased by 1.1% and passenger yield increased by 2.2%.
Following the outbreak of COVID-19, SAS suspended flights to/from Mainland China on 31 January, Northern Italy on 4 March and Hong Kong on 5 March. SAS is also adjusting other parts of its network and reducing capacity on routes with lower demand.
– We have noted reduced demand due to the COVID-19 outbreak, primarily on intercontinental travel and travel to/from Northern Italy, but also in other parts of our network. We continue the close dialogue with relevant authorities and follow their recommendations. To mitigate some of the negative financial effects, SAS reduces long- and short-haul network capacity on routes with low forward bookings. Given the fluid and uncertain situation, we are also pursuing a number of other initiatives to reduce costs and preserve our strong liquidity position, says Rickard Gustafson, CEO of SAS.
| SAS scheduled traffic | Feb20 | Change1 | Nov19- Feb20 | Change1 |
| ASK (Mill.) | 3 416 | 0.4% | 14 175 | 0.7% |
| RPK (Mill.) | 2 232 | -0.7% | 9 597 | 1.4% |
| Passenger load factor | 65.3% | -0.7 p.p. | 67.7% | +0.4 p.p. |
| No. of passengers (000) | 2,035 | 3.4% | 8,154 | 1.9% |
| Geographical development, schedule | Feb20 vs. Feb19 | Nov19-Feb20 vs. Nov18-Feb20 | ||
| RPK | ASK | RPK | ASK | |
| Intercontinental | -16.3% | -9.1% | -3.4% | -1.1% |
| Europe/Intrascandinavia | 8.2% | 6.0% | 5.1% | 1.9% |
| Domestic | 7.5% | 5.6% | 2.9% | 1.5% |
| SAS charter traffic | Feb20 | Change1 | Nov19-Feb20 | Change1 |
| ASK (Mill.) | 215 | 19.7% | 714 | 8.0% |
| RPK (Mill.) | 196 | 17.6% | 657 | 8.0% |
| Load factor | 90.9% | -1.7 p.p. | 91.9% | +0.0 p.p. |
| No. of passengers (000) | 75 | 20.2% | 216 | 11.0% |
| SAS total traffic (scheduled and charter) | Feb20 | Change1 | Nov19-Feb20 | Change1 |
| ASK (Mill.) | 3 632 | 1.4% | 14 889 | 1.0% |
| RPK (Mill.) | 2 428 | 0.5% | 10 254 | 1.8% |
| Load factor | 66.8% | -0.6 p.p. | 68.9% | +0.5 p.p. |
| No. of passengers (000) | 2,110 | 3.9% | 8,370 | 2.1% |
1 Change compared to same period last year.p.p. = percentage points
| Preliminary yield and PASK | Feb20 | Nominal change | FX adjusted change |
| Yield, SEK | 1.00 | +3.7% | +2.2% |
| PASK, SEK | 0.66 | +2.5% | +1.1% |
| Feb20 | |||
| Punctuality (arrival 15 min) | 83.0% | ||
| Regularity | 97.5% | ||
| Change in total CO2 emissions, rolling 12 months | -3.1% | ||
| Change in CO2 emissions per available seat kilometre | -2.9% | ||
| Carbon offsetting of passenger related emissions | 45% |
Definitions:
RPK – Revenue passenger kilometres
ASK – Available seat kilometres
Load factor – RPK/ASK
Yield – Passenger revenues/RPK (scheduled)
PASK – Passenger revenues/ASK (scheduled)
Change in CO2 emissions per available seat kilometres – SAS passenger related carbon emissions divided with total available seat kilometres (incl. non-revenue and EuroBonus), rolling 12 months
Carbon offsetting of passenger related emissions – Share of SAS passenger related carbon emissions compensated by SAS (EuroBonus members, youth tickets and SAS’ staff travel)
From fiscal year 2020, SAS reports change in CO2 emissions in total and per Available Seat Kilometres (ASK) to align with its overall goal to reduce total CO2 emissions by 25% by 2030, compared to 2005.
March 6, 2020 11:00
