The SAS Group Traffic figures December 2009

The SAS Group Traffic figures December 2009

SAS Group's December traffic figures 
• The SAS Group carried 24.9 million passengers during 2009.
• SAS Group's traffic decreased by 10.9% during December and seat capacity was
down 16.4% vs. 2008.
•  SAS Group carried 1.7 million passengers in December, down 7.1% vs. 2008. 
• Passenger load factor was 69.7%, up 4.3 p.u. vs. December 2008 and up for the
sixth month in a row.

Group market trends and yield development 
The yield for Scandinavian Airlines in November was down by 9.4 %, slightly
better than October. For December 2009, the change in yield is also expected to
be negative indicating continued yield pressure going forward. The lower yield
will have a negative impact on the 4th Quarter result. The market continues to
be unpredictable and the uncertainty regarding the timing of the recovery is
considerable.

The SAS Group is currently implementing its Core SAS strategy - to secure a
future profitable SAS. The strategy includes cost reduction initiatives of SEK
4.5 bn as well as a 20% reduction in capacity. The capacity reductions are
almost completed with 18 of 21 aircraft out of traffic. The implementation of
the cost reductions is well on track. An additional SEK 0.8 bn of cost saving is
being implemented to date. In total, SAS Group's cost reductions currently
amounts to SEK 5.3 bn. The management and Board of the SAS Group are working
continuously to identify further cost-saving measures.

SAS Scandinavian Airlines 
• Total number of passengers was 1.4 million during December, down by 8.3%.
• The traffic decreased by 11.7% and the capacity was down by 17.3%.
• The December load factor increased by 4.4 p.u. to 70.5%.

The intercontinental traffic decreased 12% and the capacity was down by 19.2%
resulting in a strongly improved load factor of 6.7 p.u. Traffic on European
routes decreased by 16.7%, but the load factor improved by 3.9 p.u. SAS market
share  is relatively stable on the core European business routes as most of the
cuts are carried out on leisure routes. The intrascandinavian traffic decreased
7.1% and the capacity was reduced by 17.1%. The Norwegian domestic traffic was
down 3.4%, but as capacity was reduced by 8.5%, the load factor improved 3.2
p.u. Traffic on Swedish domestic routes was down 2.8%. 

Widerøe's traffic development
Widerøe carried 150.000 passengers in December up 5.6% vs last year. The
capacity was increased by 0.1% and traffic increased by 8% resulting in an
improved load factor of 4.3 p.u to 58.5%. Capacity was increased on domestic
routes and reduced on the company's international routes.

Blue 1's traffic development  
Total number of passengers in December was 106,000, down 6.6% vs last year.
Total capacity was reduced by 11.5% mainly due to adjustments on domestic and
routes to/from Scandinavia. As the traffic decreased less than the capacity
reductions, the total load factor improved by 3.9 p.u to 64.1%.

For further information Please contact VP,Head of SAS Group Investor Relations
Sture Stølen
+ 46 8 797 1451 sture.stolen@sas.se  
Homepage: www.sasgroup.net