ALITALIA: JANUARY 2014: PASSENGER GROWTH AND RECORD OPERATIONAL RESULTS

THE MONTH OF JANUARY RECORDED THE FIRST POSITIVE EFFECTS OF THE COMPANY’S NEW BUSINESS PLAN:
1 MILLION 476 THOUSAND PASSENGERS TRANSPORTED (+ 0.5% COMPARED TO JANUARY 2013);
LOAD FACTOR AT 68.9 % (+ 1.6 P.P.).

EXCELLENT OPERATING PERFORMANCE:
ON TIME PERFORMANCE: 90.2 % (+ 2.2 PPTS; JANUARY 2013: 88%);
REGULARITY PERFORMANCE: 99.9% (+0.3 PPTS; JANUARY 2013: 99.6%).

RESULTS FROM ALITALIA’S RE-HUBBING PROJECT IN FIUMICINO, WHICH BEGAN IN NOVEMBER, EXCEED EXPECTATIONS:
+9.1% TOTAL PASSENGERS IN TRANSIT AT FIUMICINO AIRPORT;
29.5% PASSENGERS CONNECTING BETWEEN TWO ALITALIA INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS;
25.6% PASSENGERS ON INTERNATIONAL ALITALIA FLIGHTS WITH NEW EARLY DEPARTURES ACCOMODATING CUSTOMERS TRAVELING FOR BUSINESS.

Rome, February 7, 2014 – Alitalia recorded an increase in passengers in January 2014, a direct result of the positive effects produced by the new Business Plan adopted by the Company.

January ended with 1,476,098 passengers, an increase of 0.5% compared to the same period last year, despite a reduction in the number of seats offered (-3.3%), and the continuing sharp decrease in domestic traffic .

During the same period, the load factor increased to 68.9%, up 1.6 percentage points compared to last year (67.3% in January 2013).

Alitalia’s operating performance (punctuality and regularity) improved and reached levels of excellence, positioning the company permanently among the top ranking global carriers, with results well above the average of all participating AEA airlines (Association of European Airlines).

On time performance reached 90.2 , an increase of 2.2 percentage points compared to 88 in January 2013.

The regularity index, the number of flights operated of total scheduled flights, was 99.9%, an increase of +0.3 percentage points compared to 99.6% in January 2013.

Just three months since Alitalia’s re-hubbing project at Rome Fiumicino Airport, traffic results exceeded expectations, both in terms of transit passengers and in terms of load factor. The changes to the network, including rescheduling the majority of long-haul flights to later in mid-day, and earlier departures of international flights from Rome to capture high yield business, allowed Alitalia to record a 9.1% increase in total passengers connecting in Fiumicino (compared to the period November 2012/January 2013). The trend is positive in the cumulative results and the performance has been steadily improving.

In detail, the greatest increase in traffic (+ 29.5 ) was recorded among the passengers using Fiumicino airport as a connecting point between two international Alitalia flights (e.g. London – Rome Fiumicino – Athens). Passengers connecting in Fiumicino between an international and an intercontinental on Alitalia (e.g. Tirana – Rome Fiumicino – New York) increased by 4.4. These results demonstrate that Alitalia’s passenger growth, as well as the industry growth, is driven primarily by demand on the international and intercontinental routes rather than on the domestic ones. This trend is in line with the Company’s plan for future development.

The plan to schedule earlier departures for flights from Rome to select European destinations important for business passengers, such as Frankfurt, London City or Madrid, have proven successful: passengers increased 25.6% on these routes.

The re- hubbing of Rome Fiumicino also showed positive results in the load factors. On short and medium haul flights arriving in Fiumicino between 12pm and 2pm, the load factor increased 7.2 percentage points (to 74.2%), and by 5.3 percentage points (to 76.3 %) for short and medium-haul connections in Fiumicino between 1pm and 2pm. These flights arriving or departing in Fiumicino also serve as connections with Alitalia intercontinental flights.