Air traffic recovery continued in June for European carriers
Air France-KLM traffic up 4.7%; budget carriers Ryanair, EasyJet also post gains
By Aude Lagorce, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Passenger traffic improved for most European airlines in June, according to figures released this week, feeding industry hopes they could soon start adding capacity and raising ticket prices.
Air France-KLM (EURONEXT:FR:AF) on Wednesday reported that traffic rose 4.7% compared to the same month a year earlier. The load factor, a measure of how full an airline's planes are, improved to 83.8% from 80.2%. The carrier said the results reflected "an improvement in demand as well as prudent capacity management."
Traffic improved in all regions except Europe. Demand was particularly buoyant on Asian routes. In medium haul, a new category of seats, called premium eco, was well received by business travelers, the airline said.
"We have so far seen solid traffic results in June, including some very positive developments at Air France-KLM, particularly on the long haul," said Frank Skodzik, analyst at Commerzbank.
At British Airways (LONDON:UK:BAY) , underlying trends were also solid, Skodzik said, but a wave of strikes hurt results. The airline has been embroiled in a dispute with its cabin crew over wages and work conditions for more than a year now. A series of strikes disrupted operations over the past two months.
The first nine days of June were affected by the industrial action, causing air traffic --measured in revenue passenger kilometer -- to fall 11%. Capacity also declined as a result of the strike, down 8.6%. British Airways earlier this week made a new offer to its cabin crew. The Unite trade union, which represents the majority of them, said it would put it to its members. British Airways said the revamped proposal includes two years of guaranteed increases in basic salary from February 2011 in addition to annual increment pay increases. The union is making no recommendation on the offer to its members.
In an interview with Italian newspaper Il Sole 24, British Airways Chief Executive Willie Walsh said the airline would be able to guarantee all of its flights should there be further strikes.
Deutsche Lufthansa (FRANKFURT:DE:LHA) , the other big flag European carrier, reports June traffic results on Friday.
Budget airlines overall also had a strong June. Ryanair Holdings (LONDON:UK:RYA) (NASDAQ:RYAAY) , the largest in the region, carried 6.7 million passengers, up 15%. Its load factor slipped to 84% from 85%.
EasyJet (LONDON:UK:EZJ) , its nearest rival, posted a 9.4% increase. Its load factor improved to 86.7% from 86.3%.
The only exception to the rosy skies was Air Berlin (FRANKFURT:DE:AB1) . Germany's second-largest airline posted a 3.4% increase in passenger numbers to 3.02 million but yields, or average fares, declined 9.3%.
Skodzik explained that the airline had strong capacity increases on new routes. Promotions to fill those routes resulted in the yield decline.
Global airlines collectively lost $9.9 billion last year, according to data put together by the International Air Travel Association (IATA). This year, however, and despite the volcanic ash crisis that paralyzed air travel in Europe for nearly a week in April, airlines are expected to report a profit of $2.5 billion. ----------- "Fußball ist wie Schach - nur ohne Würfel" (Lukas Podolski)
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