![]() I'd never flown with SAS before, and because I'm on an eternal quest for United MileagePlus Premier qualifying points, I hesitated to book directly with SAS and face complicated earning rules. For a recent trip from the New York City area to Oslo, I found a great cash fare for round-trip flights to the Norwegian capital that was thousands of dollars cheaper than what my preferred airline, United, was charging. The plan, which he said “must succeed”, involves a reduction in annual costs of 7.5 billion Swedish kronor ($800 million), an overhaul of the fleet, a digital transformation and raising new capital.The next time you're traveling to Denmark, Sweden or Norway, you may very well find yourself flying on the region's main airline, SAS. In Norway, the market conditions are different with a resurgent Norwegian and a rapidly-expanding Flyr providing intense competition.Įarlier in the year, SAS CEO Anko van der Werff announced ‘SAS Forward', a plan to completely overhaul every aspect of the airline's business model. It is not yet known which departures will be affected. While SAS spokespeople have not gone into any more detail, it is widely known that the airline is struggling to adjust to the new post-pandemic travel patterns. “We have one focus now, and that is to take care of the passengers who are affected,” said Johansen. However, SAS insists that there is “no quick solution” and that rehiring pilots would not have solved all the problems. Klokset said many of those former pilots are now deeply distressed by the situation. “It has led us into the situation we see now, because we have not managed to get enough people in on time. At the same time as they do not want to take back enough of those laid off in the old SAS,” said Klokset to NRK. When travel restrictions saw demand for air travel plummet, up to 40% of SAS staff were laid off. The leader of the Norwegian SAS pilots' association, Roger Klokset, called the situation a “foretold disaster”, adding that SAS could have avoided it simply by rehiring pilots who were laid off during the pandemic. Passengers can usually accept a refund or alternate flights, sometimes via connecting airports. Usually when airlines cancel a flight, passengers are contacted by email and/or SMS with information and given a choice. “We have tried to resolve this situation as well as possible, by cancelling now in advance to take care of the passengers affected by this,” he added. ![]() “Now we have chosen to reduce capacity for the summer months, from May to August. It is a demanding summer after the pandemic. We would like to be without both the pandemic and the Ukraine war.” Most of SAS' fleet stood empty on the tarmac for many months during the pandemic. The reason? It's complex, according to a brief NRK interview with SAS' public relations director Knut Morten Johansen. SAS confirmed the cuts and said they would be spread across all geographical areas, including domestic flights in Norway. The pilots unions are furious and believe there is a simple solution. Despite the upsurge in demand, SAS has confirmed it will cancel approximately 4,000 flights from its summer schedule That's approximately 5% of all flights.įirst reported in Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri, the cuts are being blamed on staff shortages and delivery problems. However, all is not well with Scandinavian Airlines. ![]() Following two years of shutdowns and other travel restrictions, hotels across Scandinavia are reporting bookings similar to pre-pandemic levels. ![]() To many observers, the travel industry is about to enjoy a boom summer. If you're planning to fly on Scandinavian Airlines this summer, check your email carefully in the weeks to come. ![]()
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