SAS's loss for the August-October quarter narrowed from a year earlier as air travel picked up but the carrier warned the new Omicron coronavirus variant added uncertainty. The airline, part-owned by the governments of Sweden and Denmark, reported a Q4 loss before tax of 945m Swedish crowns ($104m) versus a year-earlier loss of 3.25b. SAS said ticket sales were increasing but that uncertainties continued to affect the ramp-up of business. "We remain cautious due to prevailing uncertainties, but see that underlying demand is healthy once restrictions are lifted, both for business and leisure travel," it said. "The short-term effect of recent developments needs yet to be fully analysed, however we remain optimistic for the peak periods ahead of us." CEO Anko van der Werff told Reuters a rise in sales over the Black Friday weekend made it difficult to analyse data to tell whether Omicron had begun to have an effect on demand. "But, no-one likes uncertainty, so that's the challenge," he said. He said it was too early to tell how Omicron would affect SAS and that the company was sticking to its plan to ramp up its operations this year to 80% of pre-pandemic 2019. "We have to remain agile but our plan is going back to that for the summer." The uncertainty about the new variant has triggered global alarm, casting a shadow over the economic recovery from the pandemic.<br/>
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SAS is closing in on a regional jetliner order, as the Scandinavian carrier repositions its fleet for post-pandemic competition with a greater focus on fuel efficiency and leisure travel. The airline, which said before the pandemic it was considering models from Airbus and Embraer, is nearing the end of its analysis and is likely to come to a decision in early 2022, CEO Anko van der Werff said on a conference call with fourth-quarter results. While he declined to comment on specifics, van der Werff said the aircraft would be used in two new short-haul operations, Connect and Link, a low-cost brand akin to KLM Cityhopper or Iberia Express. “We will start those more serious conversations I think fairly soon,” van der Weff said. The company is considering newer aircraft platforms that offer fuel efficiency and flexibility given the size of the market -- “something that really will fit our future network needs,” he said. Former CEO Rickard Gustafson said in February 2020 that SAS could order Airbus A220s or a rival model from Brazil’s Embraer. The A220 offers seating capacity ranging from about 100 to 140 passengers, depending on model and configuration. It competes with various Embraer models, including the E195 E2, which seats up to 146 people.<br/>
Scandinavia’s SAS is preparing to commence operations from Copenhagen with new internal operating models, known as SAS Connect and SAS Link, but insists they will not prove confusing to customers. SAS says market dynamics have “changed substantially” over the course of the pandemic and the shift requires the company to “take the next steps” in developing its operating model to ensure cost-efficiency and competitiveness. It will start the SAS Connect operation from Copenhagen in early 2022, said CE Anko van der Werff, speaking as the carrier unveiled full-year pre-tax losses of $718m. The airline is examining the possibility of expanding SAS Connect to bases in Stockholm and Oslo during the coming year. Van der Werff adds that SAS Link is also planned for Copenhagen operations in 2022. SAS Connect and SAS Link will fit alongside the main SAS Scandinavia division and the wet-lease services, giving the company a total of four production platforms. Van der Werff says the measure to “enhance” the SAS operating model is intended to prepare the company for increasing leisure travellers in future market demand. “The objective is to make sure that SAS has the possibility to profitably expand operations as the market re-opens,” he says. “Each platform is responsible for delivering full-scale airline services to SAS.”<br/>
The partial privatisation of South African Airways is progressing with the news that the Takatso Consortium has concluded its due diligence of the national carrier six months after it was announced as the preferred strategic equity partner. "The Takatso consortium can confirm that negotiations with the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) to buy a 51% stake in South African Airways are continuing, with the due diligence now completed with no material issues identified," Takatso's CEO, Gidon Novick, said. "The transaction is a large and complex one, and the parties are committed to concluding the deal in a timely manner," he said in response to a query from ch-aviation as to the progress being made in negotiations with DPE on the share purchase agreement, which was subject to various approvals and pre-conditions. Novick reiterated the consortium was not involved in the funding or management of SAA's current operations. Takatso is a joint venture between Johannesburg-based black empowerment asset fund manager Harith General Partners, the majority shareholder in the SAA transaction, and ACMI specialist Global Aviation Operations, the minority shareholder in the venture, which also owns the Lift Airlines brand.<br/>