Passenger traffic in June 2014 totalled 2.13 mln, a 10.9% year-on-year increase. This increase was due to a 27.4% year-on-year rise in domestic traffic, driven in part by increasing flights on high-demand routes and adding capacity. International traffic declined 1.2% year-on-year in June 2014. This decline was the result of cutting capacity on tourism routes (Larnaca, Heraklion) following discontinuation of service of blocked-off charter flights (the least profitable capacity segment) and withdrawal of Il-96 aircraft from the fleet. More efficient and smaller A320 aircraft are now being flown on these routes. Lower frequency of flights to Kiev and Odessa and the suspension of flights on Donetsk and Kharkov routes as well as reclassification of flights to Simferopol as domestic were among other factors impacting international traffic.
For 1H 2014, passenger traffic totalled 10.96 mln, a 14.9% year-on-year increase.
Revenue passenger kilometres (“RPK”) for June 2014 totalled 5.99 bln, a year-on-year increase of 11.3%. RPKs for domestic and international flights were up 23.8% and 4.6% year-on-year respectively. For 1H 2014, the Company’s RPKs increased 12.2% year-on-year to 31.17 bln.
In the first six months of 2014 the Company expanded its fleet, including 13 new Airbus A320s, two new Boeing 737-800 and six new Boeing 777-300ERs. The new factory-direct planes contributed to the ongoing modernisation of the fleet, which is now one of the youngest in Europe. In 1H 2014 three Boeing 767-300ER aircraft exited the Aeroflot fleet upon expiry of their leases and five Airbus A320 family aircraft were transferred to subsidiary airlines. Changes to the Company’s fleet structure contributed to an increase in available seat kilometres (“ASK”) by 9.5% year-on-year in June 2014 and 13.1% year-on-year in 1H 2014.
The passenger load factor increased 1.3 percentage points year-on-year in June 2014 to 81.2%. For 1H 2014, the passenger load factor was 76.5%, representing a 0.6 percentage point year-on-year decrease.
Flight hours of the Company’s fleet for June 2014 and 1H 2014 increased by 5.8% and 9.3% year-on-year, respectively.
Aeroflot Group:
Total passenger traffic for June 2014 increased 9.5% year-on-year to 3.37 mln. The main factor driving passenger traffic growth was a 21.5% increase in domestic traffic. International traffic for June 2014 was down 0.3% year-on-year. International traffic was influenced by restructuring of the Rossiya route network: domestic flights were increased (on the back of increasing passenger load factor) by reducing service on CIS routes and discontinuing a less profitable program of blocked-off charter flights on tourist routes.
Passenger traffic for 1H 2014 increased 10.8% year-on-year to 15.67 mln.
June 2014 RPKs increased 6.3% year-on-year to 8.61 bln, with RPKs on domestic and international flights up 15.7% and 1.0% year-on-year, respectively. Aeroflot Group’s RPK for 1H 2014 increased 4.2% to 40.93 bln.
The passenger load factor for June 2014 increased 1.5 percentage points year-on-year to 81.2%. The load factor was 75.7% in 1H 2014, a 0.5% percentage point year-on-year decrease.
Dobrolet:
On 10 June 2014 the low-cost airline Dobrolet LLC, a 100% subsidiary of Aeroflot, began commercial service between Moscow and Simferopol. In July 2014 Dobrolet began ticket sales for flights between Moscow and Volgograd, Perm, Samara, Ufa, Surgut, Yekaterinburg and Kazan.
Passenger traffic for Dobrolet in June 2014 was 19.1 thousand with RPKs of 23.6 mln and ASKs of 26.7 mln. Passenger load factor was 88.6% and revenue load factor was 83.1%. Flight hours of Dobrolet’s fleet were 251 hours for June 2014.
Other events:
In 2013 JSC Aeroflot discontinued its dedicated cargo fleet, switching to belly cargo operations. This was the main reason that cargo and mail carried decreased 36.0% year-on-year in June 2014.
The tables below provide key operating results for JSC Aeroflot and Aeroflot Group.
Source and image: Aeroflot