• About 9.7 million passengers flew with Austrian Airlines
• Total passenger volume at the prior-year level despite weak demand for Russia, Ukraine and the crisis regions in the Middle East
• 8.6% passenger growth on long-haul flights
A total of 9.7 million passengers flew with Austrian Airlines in the period from January to October 2014, corresponding to the same level as in the first nine months of the previous year. Passenger growth of 8.6 percent could be achieved on intercontinental flights, in contrast to 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 4.5 percent on the basis of an additional Boeing 777 and the expansion to North America. Revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) were up by 5.4 percent in the first ten months. As a result, capacity utilization (passenger load factor) in this period rose by 0.7 percentage points to 79.7 percent.
“The crisis regions in the Middle East, Russia and the Ukraine continue to dampen demand. However, growth on long-haul routes could compensate for 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 CEO Jaan Albrecht.
In the month of October 2014 alone, more than 993,000 passengers flew with Austrian Airlines. The 4.6 percent decline 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 increased by 3.4 percent, and revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) were up by 1.1 percent. Accordingly, capacity utilization (passenger load factor) fell by 1.8 percentage points to 78.2 percent.
Europe
In October 2014, Austrian Airlines carried about 831,200 passengers in Europe, a decrease of 6.4 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 2.6 percentage points to 75.2 percent.
In the period January to October 2014, about 8.2 million passengers flew with Austrian Airlines in Europe, corresponding to a slight drop of 1.4 percent below the comparable period of 2013. The passenger load factor was down by 0.3 percentage points to 77.2 percent.
Intercontinental
In October 2014, Austrian Airlines carried a total of approximately 161,800 passengers on its intercontinental flights or 6.4 percent more passengers than in October of 2013. The passenger load factor fell by 1.5 percent points to 80.5 percent.
In the period of January to October 2014, about 1.5 million passengers were carried on intercontinental flights of Austrian Airlines. This represents a rise in passenger volume of 8.6 percent year-on-year. The passenger load factor was up by 1.4 percentage points to 81.9 percent.
