Airline SAS sees demand normalizing in 2021 after losses widen in Q1

Swedish-Danish airline SAS said on Thursday it still expected demand to return to more normalized levels next year after it reported a larger Q1 loss than in the prior year due to the hit on air travel from the pandemic. The spread of COVID-19 and related restrictions have seen air travel collapse over the past year, plunging the global airline industry into crisis and leaving carriers scrambling to secure funds to weather the slump. SAS completed a capital raise in late 2020 after a year of deep losses and hopes the roll-out of vaccines will provide some relief later this year. “The development of vaccines and vaccination programs provide hope that restrictions will ease and that we will see an increase in travel toward summer 2021,” SAS said. “SAS is monitoring global vaccination developments closely in order to be ready to quickly increase capacity when conditions permit,” CE Rickard Gustafson said. The company, which is seeking a new CEO after Gustafson unexpectedly announced his resignation in January to take the helm at bearings maker SKF, said it planned to open 180 direct routes for the summer, mainly within Scandinavia and Europe, provided that restrictions allowed for travel.<br/>