• Austrian Airlines carried out targeted flight service reductions in the first quarter as a consequence of weak demand in the winter season
• Production is being ramped up once again in the summer flight schedule
• Next winter to feature an expanded flight offering to long-haul tourist destinations
Due to the traditionally weak demand in the winter months, Austrian Airlines cut back on its flight service in a targeted manner during the first quarter of 2015. Measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), the flight offering was reduced by 6.9 percent compared to the prior-year period. On balance, close to two million passengers flew with Austrian Airlines in the first quarter of 2015, comprising a decline of 11.9 percent from the previous year. Revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) fell by 8.3 percent compared to Q1 2014. Capacity utilization (passenger load factor) fell 1.2 percentage points to 73.1 percent.
As mentioned, Q1 2015 demand was weak as is traditionally the case. However, the good news is that Austrian Airlines is fully ramping up production in its summer flight schedule, which took effect on Sunday March 29, 2015, just in time to mark the beginning of the Easter holidays.
In the month of March 2015 alone, Austrian Airlines continued to proactively reduce its flight service, as in the prior months of January and February. Its flight offering measured in available seat kilometers (ASK) was cut back by 5.2 percent compared to March of 2014. On balance, about 788,100 passengers flew with Austrian Airlines in March 2015, comprising a drop of 7.4 percent from the previous year. Revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) were down 5.6 percent from the prior-year figure. The passenger load factor was maintained at a relatively stable level, falling marginally by 0.3 percentage points to 75.7 percent.
Europe
In the first quarter of 2015, more than 1.6 million passengers flew with European flights operated by Austrian Airlines. This corresponds to a decrease of 13.2 percent in a year-on-year comparison. Capacity utilization fell by 2.0 percentage points to 68.5 percent.
In the month of March 2015, Austrian Airlines carried about 661,800 passengers in Europe, comprising a drop of 8.2 percent from the prior-year level. This decline is partly due to the sluggish seasonal demand, but is also a consequence of fewer passengers flying from Russia and the Ukraine as a result of the crisis in the region. In turn, this led to a corresponding drop in transfer passenger volume. On balance, capacity utilization (passenger load factor) on European flights was down 1.6 percentage points to 72.2 percent in March 2015.
Intercontinental
In the first quarter of 2015, approximately 338,200 passengers flew on long-haul flights offered by Austrian Airlines, a drop of 4.6 percent from the previous year. The passenger load factor fell by 1.1 percentage points to 76.7 percent.
In March 2015, Austrian Airlines carried about 126,300 passengers on its intercontinental flights, comprising a decline of 3.0 percent from the prior-year level. The passenger load factor amounted to 78.5 percent, up 0.5 percentage points from March of 2014.
