Austrian Airlines Traffic Result for January to March 2011: Crisis in the Middle East and in Japan burden the result

In March 2011, Austrian Airlines have carried 797,500 passengers in total. This is by 2.4 percent less than in March 2010. The flight load factor was 5.2 percentage points below last year, amounting to 70.6 percent.

Austrian Airlines carried around 2.1 million passengers from January to March 2011. This means Austrian Airlines carried 1 percent less passengers than in the first quarter of 2010. The flight load factor fell by 4.2 percentage points to 68.6 percent. Capacity measured in Available Seat Kilometers (ASK) rose by 1.3 percent. Demand measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPK) fell by 4.5 percent.

The members of the Austrian Airlines Executive Board, Andreas Bierwirth and Peter Malanik said the following: “The market environment is difficult. The crisis in the Middle East and in Japan and also the EU capacity cap burden the result. We see an increase in demand for the second quarter.”

Europe
In March 2011, around 650,500 passengers flew with Austrian Airlines within Europe. Compared to the same month last year, this means a plus of 0.7 percent. The load factor fell slightly by 0.1 percentage points to 67.4 percent. The figure for ASK rose by 0.5 percent. RPK rose by 0.4 percent.

In the period from January to March 2011, Austrian Airlines carried around 1.7 million passengers in Europe. This is by one percent up on the previous year. The load factor rose slightly by 0.5 percentage points to 63.7 percent. The figure for ASK fell by 0.2 percent. The figure for RPK rose by 0.5 percent.

Intercontinental
The number of passengers carried in the Intercontinental segment fell by 7.4 percent to 125,000 in March 2011. The crisis in Japan affects this result. The load factor fell by 10.3 percentage points to 73 percent. The figure for ASK rose by 3.9 percent, the figure for RPK fell by 8.9 percent.

In the period from January to March 2011, Austrian Airlines carried 357,400 passengers, this is by 0.7 percent less than in the same period last year. The load factor fell by 8.7 percentage points and reached 72.3 percent. Austrian Airlines rose its ASK by 9.6 percent. RPK fell by 2.2 percent.

Charter
Due to the capacity cap of the European Commission, Austrian Airlines reduced its available capacity (ASK) in the charter segment.

Austrian Airlines carried 22,000 passengers in the Charter segment in March 2011, 39.8 percent fewer than in the comparison month last year. The load factor rose by 0.8 percentage points to 75.6 percent. Austrian Airlines reduced its ASK by 49.7 percent. The figure for RPK fell by 49.2 percent.

In the period from January to March 2011, Austrian Airlines carried 72,200 passengers in the Charter segment in Europe. This figure is 33.6 percent lower than last year. The load factor fell by 1.1 percentage points to 74.9 percent. Austrian Airlines reduced its ASK by 47.4 percent. The figure for RPK fell by 48.2 percent.

Austrian Airlines
Austrian Airlines is Austria’s largest carrier and offers a global route network of round 130 destinations. In Central and Eastern Europe, the route network is particularly dense: With 46 destinations Austrian Airlines is the market leader throughout the region. Thanks to its favourable geographical location at the heart of Europe, the company’s hub at Vienna International Airport is the ideal gateway between East and West. Austrian Airlines is part of the Lufthansa Group, Europe’s largest airline group, and a member of the Star Alliance, the first global alliance of international airlines.