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GOL Announces Demand Growth of 26.5%
and Load Factor of 63.2%
Positive economic scenario and increase in aircraft productivity
are the main highlights for April
São Paulo, April 7, 2010 A GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. (NYSE: GOL and BM&FBOVESPA: GOLL4), the largest low-cost and low-fare airline in Latin America, recorded its highest April demand figures in the domestic market since it began operations in 2001.
Demand
In April 2010, demand on GOLs total and domestic route network increased by 26.5% and 29.6%, respectively, fueled by the improved economic scenario in Brazil and Latin America and the Companys competitive advantages in the business segment, especially its higher flight frequency between Brazils main airports, particularly during business hours. The rapid development of the SMILES program and exemplary quality indices (punctuality, regularity and client service), also helped GOL become the travelers airline of choice.
In comparison with the previous month, domestic and international demand fell by 6.1% and 5.2% respectively, due to seasonality and the smaller number of calendar days (31 days in March, versus 30 in April).
Demand on GOLs internatinal route network grew by 5.6% year-over-year, mainly reflecting the recovery of economic activity in South America, on flights to Argentina and Chile, and high demand on the Caribbean routes.
Operating Data | April 2010* | April 2009* | Var.%(YoY) | March 2010* | Var.%(MoM) |
Total System | |||||
ASK (mm) (1) | 3,627.1 | 3,088.6 | 17.4% | 3,767.7 | -3.7% |
RPK (mm) (2) | 2,291.5 | 1,811,6 | 26.5% | 2,437.6 | -6.0% |
Load Factor (3) | 63,2% | 58,7% | +4,5pp | 64.7% | -1.5pp |
Domestic Market | |||||
ASK (mm) (1) | 3,211.7 | 2,627.7 | 22.2% | 3,347.0 | -4.0% |
RPK (mm) (2) | 2,044.6 | 1,577.8 | 29.6% | 2,177.0 | -6.1% |
Load Factor (3) | 63.7% | 60.0% | +3.7pp | 65.0% | -1.3pp |
International Market | |||||
ASK (mm) (1) | 415.4 | 460.9 | -9.9% | 420.7 | -1.3% |
RPK (mm) (2) | 246.9 | 233.8 | 5.6% | 260.6 | -5.2% |
Load Factor (3) | 59.4% | 50.7% | +8.7pp | 61.9% | -2.5pp |
( * ) April 2010 - preliminary figures; April 2009 and March 2010 figures from the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac).
Capacity
In this context of demand growth, with its disciplined strategy of capacity growth, capacity moved up by 17.4% over April 2009, in line with the upturn in demand, and fell by 3.7% over March 2010, given the smaller number of business days.
Load Factor and Yield
As a result, the Companys load factor increased by 4.5 p.p. over April 2009 to 63.2% (63.7% on the domestic market and 59.4% on the international market), and recorded a 1.50 p.p. decline over the previous month.
Yields maintained their upward trajectory, averaging slightly above 20 cents (R$), despite the seasonally weaker period. As a result, current yield levels are in line with the Companys financial perspective.
(1) Available seat kilometers (ASK) is the sum of the products obtained by multiplying the number of seats available on each flight stage by the distance of the average flight stage.
(2) Revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) is the sum of the products obtained by multiplying the number of revenue passengers carried on each flight stage by the average stage distance.
(3) Load factor is the percentage of aircraft seating capacity effectively used, which is calculated by dividing the number of passenger-kilometers flown by the number of seat-kilometers available.
Contact |
About GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. (NYSE: GOL and BM&FBOVESPA: GOLL4), the largest low-cost and low-fare airline in Latin America, offers more than 860 daily flights to 50 destinations that connect all the important cities in Brazil and 11 major destinations in South America and Caribbean. The Company operates a young, modern fleet of Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft, the safest and most comfortable of its class, with high aircraft utilization and efficiency levels. Fully committed to seeking innovative solutions through the use of cutting-edge technology, the Company - via its GOL, VARIG, GOLLOG, SMILES and VOE FÁCIL brands - offers its clients easy payment facilities, a wide range of complementary services and the best cost-benefit ratio in the market. This release contains forward-looking statements relating to the prospects of the business, estimates for operating and financial results, and those related to growth prospects of GOL. These are merely projections and, as such, are based exclusively on the expectations of GOLs management concerning the future of the business and its continued access to capital to fund the Companys business plan. Such forward-looking statements depend, substantially, on changes in market conditions, government regulations, competitive pressures, the performance of the Brazilian economy and the industry, among other factors and risks disclosed in GOLs filed disclosure documents and are, therefore, subject to change without prior notice. |
Investor Relations | |
Leonardo Pereira Vice-President/CFO | |
Rodrigo Alves Head of IR | |
Raquel Kim Investor Relations | |
Mario Liao Investor Relations | |
Phone: (11) 2128-4700 | |
E-mail: ri@golnaweb.com.br | |
Website: www.voegol.com.br/ir | |
Twitter: www.twitter.com\GOLinvest | |
Corporate Communications | |
Phone: (11) 2128-4413 | |
E-mail: comcorp@golnaweb.com.br | |
Twitter :www.twitter.com/GOLcomunicacao | |
Media Relations | |
Edelman (U.S and Europe): | |
M. Smith and N. Dean | |
Phone: +1 (212) 704-8196 / 704-4484 | |
E-mail: meaghan.smith@edelman.com | |
or noelle.dean@edelman.com | |
GOL LINHAS AÉREAS INTELIGENTES S.A. | |
By: |
/S/ Leonardo Porciúncula Gomes Pereira |
Name: Leonardo Porciúncula Gomes Pereira
Title: Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer |
This press release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are statements that are not historical facts, and are based on management's current view and estimates offuture economic circumstances, industry conditions, company performance and financial results. The words "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "expects", "plans" and similar expressions, as they relate to the company, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the declaration or payment of dividends, the implementation of principal operating and financing strategies and capital expenditure plans, the direction of future operations and the factors or trends affecting financial condition, liquidity or results of operations are examples of forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. There is no guarantee that the expected events, trends or results will a