STOCKHOLM, Sweden, June 10, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The SAS Group
1. Investor news in June 2002
Scandinavian Direct introduced June 1, 2002 On June 1, 2002 SAS Airline introduced its new short haul concept -Scandinavian Direct. With Scandinavian Direct, the curtain between the business and economy class sections of the aircraft is removed, business travel prices is reduced by up to 30 percent and a new, uniform onboard-service concept is introduced. It will also be easier to book, purchase and check-in. A completely new Internet site was also launched in June. The purpose of the changes is to create a simpler and faster travel service for the customer, while simultaneously improving SAS efficiency.
SAS offer minority shareholders of Wideroee's Flyveselskap On June 4 the SAS submitted an offer to the remaining shareholders of Wideroee's to purchase their shares. The offer is valid until June 21. With the offer fully accepted SAS will increase its ownership from 64% to 100%. Wideroee's is the leading regional airline in Norway.
2. The SAS Group traffic development -- highlights
SAS Group -- passenger load factors improved The consolidation of the traffic system for all airlines in the SAS Group improved passenger load factors by 2.9 p.u. in June 2002 vs 2001. Overall passenger load factor reached 65.0%. Total traffic for the SAS Group (RPK) was down -5.3%.
SAS Airline was negatively affected by the differences in the holiday's pattern in May 2002 vs 2001. SAS Airline's passenger traffic (RPK) decreased by 0.9% in May 2002 vs 2001. Passenger load factor increased by 2.9 p.u to a record 68.4% in May 2002 compared with 2001. Business Class traffic was down -20.8%. Adjusted for the holidays (Whitsun holidays in May 2002 vs June 2001) Business Class was down approx 13-15 %. This drop is in line with the development noted in March/ April. Economy class was up 8.2% in May 2002.
Even if the figures showed some improvements the development in Business Class is still generally weak. International traffic to /from Stockholm continued to be weak as a result of slow growing Swedish economy fueled by the crisis in the telecom sector. The negative passenger mix in addition to a number of price campaigns in the marketplace continues to put yields under significant pressure. The outlook remains unchanged. It is estimated that SAS Airline continued to gain market shares particularly on Intercontinental routes in this weak market.
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