CAPA > Aviation Analysis > SAS, Air Berlin defy European airline load factor improvements in April

Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, SAS, Air Berlin, Finnair and SkyEurope all lost ground.

European carriers' intra-Europe passenger numbers and passenger number growth: Apr-09

Notes: Lufthansa traffic including SWISS
Finnair intro-Europe traffic only for Europe not including domestic
Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation & Company reports

SAS and Air Berlin also reported lower load factors last month, although Air Berlin is at least showing some positive yield figures, unlike SAS.

European carriers' intra-Europe passenger load factor and passenger load factor growth: Apr-2009

Notes: Lufthansa traffic including SWISS
Finnair intro-Europe traffic only for Europe not including domestic
Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation & Company reports

Ryanair continues to press home its dominance of European aviation and is forecasting an improvement in profits this year.

European carriers' intra-Europe passenger numbers and passenger number growth: Apr-2009

Notes: Lufthansa traffic including SWISS
Finnair intro-Europe traffic only for Europe not including domestic
Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation & Company reports

Overall, the April figures could be an aberration in a downwards trend, with further capacity cutbacks considered highly likely in the months ahead.

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