June 7, 2012

MAY 2012 TRAFFIC

• Passenger: stable traffic (-0.2%) for capacity down 1.4%, rise in load factor (+1.0 point) 

• Cargo: decline in traffic (-8.8%) and load factor (-3.9 points) 

In order to facilitate year on year comparisons, last year's passenger data has been restated to include the passenger business of Martinair.

Passenger business

Passenger traffic was stable (-0.2%) for capacity down 1.4%. The load factor improved by one point to 80.8%. The number of passengers stood at 6.55 million (-0.8%).
In France, May saw four additional public holidays compared to last year, which weighed on the leisure/business mix. As a result, unit revenue per available seat kilometer (RASK) ex-currency was stable compared with May 2011.

• On the Americas network, traffic and capacity declined by 1.8% and 2.6% respectively. The load factor stood at 86.7% (+0.7 points).    

• The Asia network, which was affected in 2011 by the impact of the Japanese tsunami, saw a 4.3% increase in traffic for capacity up by 3.4%. The load factor improved by 0.7 points to 81.9%. 

• The Africa and Middle East network recorded a 1.8% drop in traffic, considerably lower than the reduction in capacity of 6.8%. The load factor gained 3.9 points to 75.2%. 

• On the Caribbean and Indian Ocean network, traffic was virtually stable (-0.3%) for capacity down by 3.2%. As a result, the load factor gained 2.3 points to 80.9%. 

• The European network saw a rise in traffic of 2.6% for capacity up by 3.2%. The load factor declined slightly to 74.2% (-0.4 points). 

Cargo business

The cargo business recorded an 8.8% drop in traffic for capacity reduced by 3.9%. The load factor declined by 3.4 points to 64.3%. Unit revenue per available ton kilometer (RATK) ex-currency decreased relative to May 2011.

Recent developments

• The group is pursuing its expansion in Africa: On 15th May, KLM launched three weekly flights to Lusaka (Zambia) operated by an Airbus A330, and Air France launched on 4th June a daily flight to Abuja (Nigeria), also operated by an Airbus A330. 

• Saudia joined SkyTeam, taking the number of members to 16. Saudia is the first SkyTeam member based in the Middle East, and represents a solid base for the alliance in this region.    

• Air France launched a daily flight to Los Angeles, operated by an Airbus A380, the third US destination to be served by this aircraft after New York and Washington. Air France flies to Los Angeles from Paris-Charles de Gaulle with two daily flights by Airbus A380 and Boeing B777. 

Agenda

• 6th July 2012 at 8:00 CET: June 2012 traffic 

• 30th July 2012 at 7:15 CET: First Half 2012 results 

STATISTICS

Passenger activity (in millions)