GOL Announces January 2010 Traffic Figures

PR Newswire

SAO PAULO, Feb. 5

SAO PAULO, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. (NYSE: GOL; BM&FBOVESPA: GOLL4), the largest low-cost and low-fare airline in Latin America, announces its preliminary traffic figures for January 2010.

Management Comments

In January, demand on GOL's route network grew by 32.1% over the same period last year (31.4% in the domestic market and 36.9% in the international market), the second consecutive month to record a year-on-year upturn.

The key factor behind the upturn was the improved economic scenario in Brazil and South America, especially in regard to consumer confidence, and GOL's strategic positioning in its operational markets, based on: (i) high flight frequency between main airports; (ii) high productivity; (iii) punctuality; (iv) exemplary customer service; (v) dynamic fare management, rewarding clients who schedule their trips in advance with lower fares, encouraging demand and reducing the number of available seats on flights where advanced booking is rare; (vi) a wide cost advantage; and (vii) the revitalization of SMILES, Latin America's largest mileage program, with more than 6.6 million participants and over 150 commercial partners.

Specifically in regard to the international market, the increase in demand was also due to adjustments to the international route network, which now includes new routes from Brazil to the Caribbean with flights to Aruba and Curacao, the integration of GOL's and VRG's reservation systems in January 2009 and the repositioning of the sales channels in 2009, including the opening and renovation of airport stores abroad in order to adjust them to GOL's business model and the client profile of the location in question.

Demand grew by 8.5% over December 2009 (5.3% in the domestic market and 35.3% in the international market), due to the same factors that resulted in the year-on-year upturn. The international market growth drivers also included the 19.1% appreciation of the Real against the Dollar over January 2009, which was a key factor that contributed positively to this growth, and the new Caribbean routes, which reached their sales peak in January.

As a result, the Company delivered a total load factor of 77.9% in January 2010 (77.3% in the domestic market and 81.8% in the international market), and the international market was 24.5 percentage points more than the 57.3% recorded in January 2009, and 11.5 percentage points up on the 70.3% registered in December 2009.

    Operating Data            January    January    Ch. %    December    Ch. %
                               2010*      2009*     (YoY)     2009*      (MoM)
    Total System
      ASK (mm) (1)            3,936.7    3,369.1    16.8%     3,702.9     6.3%
      RPK (mm) (2)            3,066.0    2,320.3    32.1%     2,827.0     8.5%
      Load Factor (3)           77.9%      68.9%   +9.0pp       76.3%   +1.5pp
    Domestic Market
      ASK (mm) (1)            3,443.2    2,854.4    20.6%     3,278.6     5.0%
      RPK (mm) (2)            2,662.3    2,025.4    31.4%     2,528.7     5.3%
      Load Factor (3)           77.3%      71.0%   +6.4pp       77.1%   +0.2pp
    International Market
      ASK (mm) (1)              493.5      514.6    -4.1%       424.3    16.3%
      RPK (mm) (2)              403.7      295.0    36.9%       298.3    35.3%
      Load Factor (3)           81.8%      57.3%  +24.5pp       70.3%  +11.5pp

( * ) January 2010 - preliminary figures; Figures from the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) for January 2009 and December 2009.

GOL has been maintaining its disciplined strategy of expanding capacity in order to maximize its operating result. In January 2010, the company increased its domestic capacity by 20.6%, while demand moved up by 31.4%. This strategy was clearly more effective in the international market, where GOL reduced its capacity by 4.1%, while demand climbed by 36.9%.

Yields maintained their gradual recovery pace, averaging more than R$19.00 cents in January.

(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.

About GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A

GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. (NYSE: GOL and Bovespa: GOLL4), the largest low-cost and low-fare airline in Latin America, offers around 800 daily flights to 50 destinations that connect all the important cities in Brazil and ten 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 FACIL 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 GOL's management concerning the future of the business and its continued access to capital to fund the Company's 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 GOL's filed disclosure documents and are, therefore, subject to change without prior notice.