Passenger 5.7% reduction in capacity and 8.1% decline in traffic
Cargo traffic stabilizes
Passenger business
May 2009 was impacted by unfavourable calendar effects in France (three public holidays compared with only two in May 2008). As a result, the decline in traffic (-8.1%) exceeded the reduction in capacity (-5.7%). The load factor was therefore down 2.0 points to 77.3%. The group carried 6.1 million passengers (-7.8%).
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On the Americas network traffic declined 9.8% with a 8.3% reduction in capacity. The load factor declined 1.5 points to 82.6%.
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On the Asia network capacity was strongly reduced by 8.3% while traffic declined 11.1%. The load factor dropped 2.2 points to 79.4%.
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Traffic on the Africa and Middle East network rose 0.3% with capacity up 4.0%. The load factor fell 2.7 points to 71.8%.
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The Caribbean and Indian Ocean network saw reductions in traffic and capacity of 6.5% and 6.6% respectively, leading to a stable load factor of 80.5% (+0.1 point).
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The European network saw capacity down 4.5% and traffic by 7.4%. The load factor declined 2.2 points to 70.1%.
Cargo business
Since January 1, 2009, the group has consolidated the cargo activity of Martinair. Including Martinair, traffic declined slightly (-1.0%) while capacity rose 2.1%. The load factor declined by 1.9 points to 62.9%. Excluding Martinair, traffic and capacity fell 18.0% and 14.1% respectively, leading to a 3.0 point reduction in load factor to 61.8%. This data confirms the signs of stabilization witnessed in the cargo activity in recent months as well as the progressive adjustment of capacity to demand.