The Austrian Airlines Group increased the number of passengers carried in the entire year 2012 by 1.8 per cent from the prior-year level to a total of 11.5 million passengers.

The passenger load factor was up by 3.8 percentage points, rising to 77.5 percent.

Capacity as measured by available seat kilometers (ASK) was reduced by four per cent, whereas the comparable figure for revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) improved by 0.9 per cent. 

Karsten Benz, chief commercial officer of Austrian Airlines, said: “In the year 2012 we carried out a targeted reduction of capacity based on the outplacement of four aircraft.

“Nevertheless, we succeeded in carrying more passengers. Accordingly, we managed to increase productivity, the passenger load factor and profitability.”

Considering the month of December 2012 in itself, Austrian Airlines carried more than 811,000 passengers.

Although the capacity in ASK was reduced by 6.8 per cent, the number of passengers carried actually rose by 2.4 per cent compared to December 2011.

In December 2012, Austrian Airlines operated four fewer aircraft than a year earlier.

However, the passenger load factor improved to 76.3 per cent in December 2012, an improvement of 4.2 percentage points from December 2011.