Decline in tourism numbers hits Q3 Air Berlin results

Air Berlin has posted a net loss of €45.6 million for its third quarter, 2016, blaming weak tourism demands. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), as well as restructuring costs, dropped 31% to €55.81 million. After factoring in restructuring costs, Air Berlin made a €17.3 million EBIT loss.
Compared to the same quarter last year, 2015, the carrier saw a 5% drop in revenue to €1.23 billion. Capacity (in available seat km) increased by 0.1%, however revenue fell by 5.5% per available seat km (RASK). Load factor edged up 0.4 percentage points to 88.64%.
Air Berlin made it clear that as a consequence of the threat of terrorism, capacity from the Eastern Mediterranean had been moved to such destinations as Mallorca and the Canary Islands.
According to Stefan Pichler, Air Berlin Chief Executive, “Due to increased market pressure, particularly in the tourism sector, the third quarter did not meet our expectations, and conditions remain challenging.
“While the fourth quarter will not bring a significant operational improvement for Air Berlin, we are confident of being able to announce progress with our restructuring in the foreseeable future.”
In the meantime, to continue with the expansion of transatlantic flights as part of the company’s restructuring program, Air Berlin has added three Airbus A330s.
(€1.00 = US$1.09 at time of publication.)