Traffic Results of Austrian Airlines for June 2013: Ongoing Upward Trend in Capacity Utilization

· January to June 2013: passenger load factor up to 75.7 percent
· June 2013: increase in capacity utilization to 79.3 percent

The number of passengers carried by the Austrian Airlines Group in the period January-June 2013 declined by 3.0 percent from the previous year to approximately 5.3 million. This is due to the 7.4 percent reduction in capacity. Within the context of a fleet harmonization program, the fleet was streamlined by four medium-haul aircraft. In addition, up to two long-haul aircraft were taken out of service in the period January to June 2013, and are being equipped with the new cabins tailored to long-haul flights. Revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) were down by 5.3 percent in the period January to June 2013. Capacity utilization (passenger load factor) improved overall by 1.7 percentage points from the prior-year level to 75.7 percent.

Considering the month of June 2013 in itself, Austrian Airlines carried more than one million passengers. This comprises a slight decline of 0.8 percent. The underlying reason for this decrease is that capacity in available seat kilometers (ASK) was reduced by 2.0 percent. Austrian Airlines also had two fewer aircraft in operation in June 2013 than in the prior year. However, revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) fell by only 1.4 percent. As a result, capacity utilization climbed by 0.5 percentage points from the prior-year level to 79.3 percent.

“We had two fewer aircraft in operation in June than in the previous year, and several changes were also made to the destinations we fly to“, says Karsten Benz, Chief Commercial Officer of Austrian Airlines. “We have cancelled flight service to unprofitable destinations, and since May we have been offering flight service to an additional long-haul route, namely Chicago. The rise in capacity utilization shows that we are on the right path.”

Europe
In June 2013, a total of 915,900 passengers flew with Austrian Airlines in Europe. This comprises a decline of 0.1 percent from the previous year. However, the passenger load factor could be increased by 2.8 percentage points to 78.9 percent.

In the period January to June 2013, Austrian Airlines carried more than 4.5 million passengers in Europe, corresponding to a decline of 2.1 percent. In contrast, the passenger load factor during this period rose by 3.0 percentage points to 74.3 percent.

Intercontinental
In June 2013, the number of passengers carried on intercontinental flights amounted to 143,100, a decline of 5.0 percent from the comparable period in the previous year. Accordingly, the passenger load factor was down 2.0 percentage points to 79.6 percent.

In the period January to June 2013, Austrian Airlines carried a total of 756,300 passengers on its intercontinental flights, a drop of 8.4 percent from the prior year. Accordingly, the passenger load factor climbed 0.5 percentage points to 77.0 percent.