Austrian Airlines: Traffic Results for February 2013

The number of passengers carried by the Austrian Airlines Group in the period January-February 2013 declined by 3.8 percent from the previous year to 1.4 million. This can be primarily attributed to the reduced capacity in the winter season. The fleet was streamlined by four medium-haul aircraft within the context of the fleet harmonization program, and one long-haul aircraft was taken out of service to install the new cabins tailored to long-haul flights. On balance, Austrian Airlines reduced capacity by 10.7 percent. At the same time, revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) were down by only 6.5 percent. As a result, capacity utilization (passenger load factor) improved by 3.2 percentage points to 72.1 percent.

Considering the month of February 2013 in itself, Austrian Airlines carried about 681,000 passengers. Austrian Airlines had five fewer aircraft in operation in February 2013 than in the previous year. Capacity in available seat kilometers (ASK) was reduced by 11.7 percent, but the number of passengers fell by only 5.2 percent compared to February 2012. As a result, the passenger load factor improved to 72.5 percent in February 2013, an increase of 2.8 percentage points from the prior-year level.

“The year 2013 has begun well for us. The trend with respect to capacity utilization is a positive one because we have succeeded in adjusting our offering to the seasonally-related weaker demand in the month of February on the basis of strict capacity management. We have become more productive”, says Karsten Benz, Chief Commercial Officer of Austrian Airlines.

Europe

In February 2013, a total of 552,700 passengers flew with Austrian Airlines in Europe. This comprises a decline of 4.5 percent from the prior-year level. The passenger load factor rose by 4.8 percentage points to 69.5 percent.

In the period January to February 2013, Austrian Airlines carried more than 1.1 million passengers in Europe, corresponding to a capacity-related decline of 3.0 percent. In contrast, the passenger load factor during this period rose by 3.5 percentage points to 68.4 percent.

Intercontinental

In February 2013 capacity on intercontinental flights was down by 14.4 percent in a year-on-comparison comparison due to the technical downtime required for converting its long-haul aircraft. The number of passengers carried on intercontinental flights decreased by only 10.9 percent to about 98,700. Accordingly, the passenger load factor was 74.6 percent, or 1.1 percentage points above the prior-year level.

In the period January to February 2013, Austrian Airlines carried a total of approximately 208,600 passengers on its intercontinental flights, a drop of 8.9 percent from the previous year. The passenger load factor climbed 3.2 percentage points to 75.1 percent.