Airline SAS losses deepen, warns bankruptcy protection to drag out

Crisis-hit Scandinavian airline SAS on Wednesday reported a much deeper loss in its August-October quarter than last year and said it will take longer than expected to complete its bankruptcy protection process. The long struggling carrier, which sought bankruptcy protection in July in the United States in a bid to slash costs and debt, said its fiscal Q4 pretax loss grew to 1.70b Swedish crowns ($161m) from 945m. SAS, whose biggest owners are Sweden and Denmark, said in a statement it aimed to end its bankruptcy protection during the second half of 2023. In September it said it hoped to conclude it within 12 months of its launch. CE Anko van der Werff told Reuters he expected the process to end relatively early in the second half of the year. “We had an internal deadline for some of the negotiations to end by October. We didn’t do that. The cabin crew (agreement) in Norway for instance was signed last night. So, yes, there is a little bit of delay,” he said. SAS and Norwegian cabin crew unions on Tuesday inked a new collective agreement. Lowering costs for staff, especially pilots, is a core part of SAS’ rescue plan. The carrier in July reached a deal with most pilots following a strike that grounded most of its planes for two weeks. The former flag carrier has also renegotiated contracts with many aircraft lessors. SAS said on Wednesday the implementation of the process in the United States was likely to entail additional legal proceedings in other markets too. “As a result, there is no assurance that there will be any recovery for the shareholders of SAS,” it said.<br/>