Norwegian Air Shuttle March traffic, yield rise

OSLO, April 7 (Reuters) - Budget airline Norwegian Air Shuttle (NWC.OL) carried 9.4 percent more passengers in March than a year earlier, and its yield, an indicator of average fare levels, rose in its main business.

Norwegian Air, a rival of Scandinavian airline SAS (SAS.ST) (SAS.CO) (SASNOK.OL), said on Friday it carried 787,003 passengers on its Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and Polish operations in March, up from 719,148 a year earlier.

The number of passengers fell at its Swedish hub, while it grew in the rest of its business. Total passenger traffic, a measure of the number of passengers and kilometres flown, rose in both the main operations and the Swedish business, it said.

"The increase in passenger traffic, production and passengers is related to the company's expansion in established markets and to the introduction of new routes from April 2008 to March 2009, as well as adjustments in production capacity and a steady increase in passengers," Norwegian said.

The yield -- the average revenue per passenger carried and kilometre flown -- rose 10 percent in March year-on-year to 0.65 Norwegian crown ($0.10) across the airline's operations in Norway, Denmark and Poland, it said.

The yield in its Swedish operation -- the rebranded FlyNordic, which was acquired in July 2007 and is reported on separately -- fell 32 percent to 0.46 crown, the airline said.

The company said the drop was caused by new routes and a longer average distance for flights.

Total passenger traffic (RPK), which factors in distance flown, increased in the main operations by 11 percent year-on-year in March, Norwegian Air Shuttle said, but the load factor, an indicator of seats sold as a percentage of capacity, fell by 6 percentage points to 75 percent, the airline said.

"The operation in Poland was affected by some pressure on yield and load," Norwegian Air said.

Internet sales accounted for 91 percent of tickets sold in in March, Norwegian Air Shuttle said.

(Reporting by Oslo newsroom; Editing by Erica Billingham)