3.2 million customers travelled on our flights during the third quarter, an increase of 9.4 per cent year-on-year. We increased our own capacity by 9.1 per cent year-on-year by returning leased out narrow-body aircraft to our own use. Our comparable operating result was 71.5 million euros (94.3), down from the strong comparison period as unit revenue decreased due to normalising demand.
Our passenger revenue decreased year-on-year in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, but increased in North American traffic. Ancillary revenue increased by 25.7 per cent and cargo revenue by 28.8 per cent.
Our unit cost excluding fuel costs decreased by 4.2 per cent, demonstrating successful cost management in a situation where our network traffic charges, including navigation fees, increased clearly more than our capacity. Cost control and continuous improvement continue to play an important role in securing our competitiveness.
Our strong operating cash flow (98.9 million euros) during the quarter as well as our result for the period (57.4 million euros) continued to support the strengthening of our balance sheet. We have now repaid all the loans we took out during the double crisis.
We have updated our climate target, and our new, science-based target is to reduce our emission intensity (CO2e/RTK) by 34.5% by 2033 compared to 2023. The target has been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The means to achieve this goal are increasing the use of sustainable aviation fuel well above the amount required by legislation, improving operational efficiency, optimising the network and investing in new aircraft technology.
Our customer satisfaction measured by Net Promoter Score was 40, developing positively with the opening of our new Schengen lounge in July and smaller product renewals. Customer satisfaction was also supported by our on-time-performance, which was 77 per cent, even though airspace restrictions affected our flight times to some extent. We aim to further strengthen our on-time-performance through close collaboration with our partners. We also continue to invest in customer experience, next renewing the cabins of the Embraer aircraft we use in European traffic. The organisational changes announced in September further strengthen our focus on customer experience and understanding customer needs.
During the current winter season, we fly to 85 destinations, with increased frequencies to London and Phuket, among others. Our cooperation with Qatar Airways on flights between Stockholm and Copenhagen and Doha will end in its current form in mid-January, and the A330 aircraft on these routes will return to Finnair's own traffic as the cooperation continues as codeshare cooperation.
I would like to warmly thank all our customers for their trust in us during the busiest travel season of the year. Sincere thanks are also due to all Finnair employees and our partners for their committed work for safe and smooth journeys for our customers.