SAS chairman warns pilot strike sets stage for 2019 loss

SAS may be facing a loss in 2019 as the airline company weighs up the cost of a protracted pilot strike. The walkout, which has already disrupted the plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers, will continue into Thursday, with SAS saying it’s been forced to cancel another 280 departures across Scandinavia. The two sides were due to meet in Oslo on Wednesday to talk through their differences. “It is positive that the parties now return to the negotiating table, it is the only way the conflict can be solved,” SAS spokeswoman Karin Nyman said. “As the parties now meet, we have the aspiration that it will lead to a constructive dialogue.” SAS Chairman Carsten Dilling says it’s too early to estimate the full cost of the strike, but said that investors need to brace for the possibility that the company won’t generate a profit this year. SAS has tried to curb the fallout by sending layoff notices to Norwegian cabin crew, but labor laws prevent it from doing the same in Denmark and Sweden, Jyllands-Posten reported. Since starting late last week, the strike already looks set to have caused well over 3,000 cancellations, affecting about 350,000 passengers.<br/>