Signs of healthy recovery for SAS as July Passenger Numbers Surge
In July, SAS recorded an impressive 2.4 million passengers, marking the highest monthly passenger count since before the COVID-19 pandemic. This figure represents an 82% surge in passenger numbers compared to the same month in the previous year, which was significantly affected by a pilot strike.
Furthermore, SAS saw an 84% boost in capacity and a 92% increase in Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPK), again compared to the same month last year. Moreover, it also saw a high flown load factor of 86%.
“The summer season continued with another busy month for SAS,” says Anko van der Werff, President & CEO of SAS. “We are pleased to see the positive trend for passenger demand, with continued booking strength throughout the month of July.”
SAS July Traffic Performance (tables)
| SAS total traffic (scheduled and charter) | Jul23 | Change1 | Nov22- Jul23 | Change1 | |
| ASK (Mill.) | 4,872 | 84.1% | 30,148 | 27.3% | |
| RPK (Mill.) | 4,177 | 92.1% | 22,892 | 42.4% | |
| Load factor | 85.7% | 3.5 pp | 75.9% | 8.1 pp | |
| No. of passengers (000) | 2,415 | 82.3% | 16,894 | 39.5% |
1 Change compared to the same period last year, pp = percentage points
| Geographical development, schedule | Jul23 vs. Jul22 | Nov22-Jul23 vs. Nov21-Jul22 | ||
| RPK | ASK | RPK | ASK | |
| Intercontinental | 145.9% | 161.2% | 67.6% | 41.1% |
| Europe/Intrascandinavia | 73.5% | 69.3% | 35.9% | 24.9% |
| Domestic | 118.6% | 88.2% | 26.9% | 16.3% |
| Preliminary yield and PASK | Jul23 | Nominal change1 | FX adjusted change |
| Yield, SEK | 1.03 | -1.6% | -5.5% |
| PASK, SEK | 0.87 | 0.1% | -3.8% |
| Jul23 | |||
| Punctuality (arrival 15 min) | 62.6% | ||
| Regularity | 97.5% | ||
| Change in total CO2 emissions | 35.6% | ||
| Change in CO2 emissions per available seat kilometer | 1.9% | ||
| Carbon offsetting of passenger-related emissions | 34.6% |
Definitions:
RPK – Revenue passenger kilometers
ASK – Available seat kilometers
Load factor – RPK/ASK
Yield – Passenger revenues/RPK (scheduled)
PASK – Passenger revenues/ASK (scheduled)
Change in CO2 emissions per available seat kilometers – SAS passenger-related carbon emissions divided by total available seat kilometers (incl non-revenue and EuroBonus tickets), rolling 12 months vs. rolling 12 months the previous year
Carbon offsetting of passenger-related emissions – Share of SAS passenger-related carbon emissions compensated by SAS (EuroBonus members, youth tickets, and SAS’ staff travel) during the month
From fiscal year 2020, SAS reports the change in CO2 emissions in total and per Available Seat Kilometers (ASK) to align with the airline’s overall goal to reduce its total CO2 emissions by 25% by 2025, compared to 2005.
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