Air Berlin: More than 2 million passengers in November
Passenger increase according to plan, but problems with system integration
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air transport/traffic figures November 2007
London/Berlin (euro adhoc) - This month, for the seventh time in a row, Air Berlin transported more than two million passengers. In November 2007, Air Berlin (including its subsidiaries LTU and Belair) welcomed 2,048,196 passengers on board, i.e. a 19.2 percent increase over the corresponding month of the previous year (11/2006: 1,718,787 passengers, including LTU und Belair). Fleet capacity utilization improved to 72.1 percent, i.e. an increase of 3.5 percentage points over the corresponding month of the previous year (11/2006: 68.6 percent). Flight revenue per available seat kilometer (ASK) increased from 4.35 to 4.41 Eurocents, i.e. an increase of 1.36 percent.
For the first eleven months of 2007, the accumulated number of passengers traveling on Air Berlin totaled 25,958,556 passengers (01-11/2006: 23,559,250), i.e. an increase of 10.2 percent. Capacity utilization over the January to November 2007 period improved by 1.5 percentage points to 77.7 percent (2006: 76.2 percent).
Although the number of passengers increased according to plan, fleet capacity utilization for November was lower than expected. As Air Berlin´s CFO, Ulf Hüttmeyer, stated: "We experienced considerable technical problems merging the capacity control systems of Air Berlin and LTU. As a result, the originally planned capacity cuts for the months of November and December could not be implemented to their full extent. Therefore, both the seat load factor and yield development were not sufficiently positive. The non-recurrent charges for these two months amount to a two-digit figure in the lower million euro range. However, I would like to make it clear that this is indeed a one-time charge, since the system integration has been completed in the meantime. We are right on track with capacity adjustment for 2008. It is anticipated that these non-recurrent charges can be offset with non-recurrent income in order to reach our 2007 annual target."
November 2007 Capacity: 2,840,637 Number of Passengers: 2,048,196 Capacity utilization rate: 72.10%
November 2007, accumulated Capacity: 33,423,852 Number of Passengers: 25,958,556 Capacity utilization rate: 77.66%
end of announcement euro adhoc 06.12.2007 08:57:45 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Further inquiry note:
Claudia Löffler
Press Officer Air Berlin
phone: +49 (0)30 3434 1500
e-mail: cloeffler@airberlin.com
Branche: Air Transport
ISIN: GB00B128C026
WKN: AB1000
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Original content of: Air Berlin PLC, transmitted by news aktuell