– We still face challenges – E24

The airline SAS continues to develop well from the summer months, and has received a significant increase in the number of passengers from September to October.

Anko van der Werff, CEO of SAS, notes that it is positive that travel activity also increases after the summer season and that ticket sales are increasing.

– In October, the number of SAS passengers increased by more than 250 thousand passengers compared to September. The increase continues and both capacity and cabin factor are higher this month, says Van der Werff.

Complete, not full

SAS Group carried 1.4 million passengers in October, an increase of 130 percent over the same month last year.

The occupancy rate, or cabin factor, was 61.6 percent, an improvement of 23 percent over the periods.

It appears from the total air traffic figures for October, which include regular and charter air traffic, which were presented on Monday.

Regular air traffic carried 1.35 million passengers, with a packing rate of 60.2 percent. Thus, nearly four of the ten seats were still empty.

Norwegian Aircraft Fuller

By comparison, the airline’s main competitor in the Norwegian market, Norwegian, had 1.2 million passengers in October.

An average of 82.7 per cent of seats on Norwegian aircraft were occupied during this period.

SAS had 1.1 million passengers in the previous period, in September. This gave a fill score, or cabin factor, of 52.8 percent.

Unexpected future

However, the head of the SAS warns that there are still uncertain times.

We continue to face challenges and an unpredictable future, which makes it extremely important to remain competitive. We must be enthusiastic and able to respond to changes in customer demand in the future, says the SAS Director.

low yield

SAS’ normal traffic capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), increased 93.5 percent in October, compared to the same month last year.

SAS Group’s adjusted yield fell 9.6 percent in October to 1.11 SEK.

Passenger-adjusted revenue in currency (PASK) for the period increased 45.7 per cent to SEK 0.67 compared to the same month in the previous year.

The yield on the Swedish krona without currency adjustments fell by 8.2 percent, while the yield on the Swedish krona rose by 48.1 percent.

– Best of the year

Aviation analyst and consultant Hans Jørgen Elnæs at Winair thinks SAS is providing good numbers.

He points out that the number of passengers is the best year for the airline, as well as the revenue.

Ticket revenue came in at SEK 1.57 billion, the best year for SAS. It’s also positive that unit and PASK revenue also increased in October, which may have been driven in part by the fact that it was fall break this month, Elnæs tells E24.

It records otherwise that Norwegian lags behind in the number of passengers, and that SAS is also able to charge higher prices.

– SAS continues to generate significantly higher revenue for the unit, says the consultant.