Scandinavian airline SAS cuts 1,200 more flights as strike by pilots drags on
SAS has cancelled 2,800 flights so far as deadlock in wage dispute shows no sign of being broken
28 April 2019 - 17:43
byNiklas Pollard
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SAS jets at Gardamoen Airport stand idle during a pilots' strike, in Oslo, Norway, April 26 2019. Picture: OLE BERG-RUSTEN/NTB SCANPIX Image:
Stockholm — Scandinavian airline SAS cancelled more than 1,200 flights scheduled for Monday and Tuesday as a strike by pilots that has disrupted the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers entered its third day on Sunday.
SAS pilots went out on strike on Friday as wage talks broke down, grounding about 70% of the airline’s flights and affecting about 280,000 passengers including the latest cancellations.
“We deeply regret that our customers are affected by the ongoing pilot strike when SAS now cancels flights on Monday and Tuesday,” the airline said.
“The strike will affect an additional 61,000 passengers on Monday when 667 flights are cancelled across Scandinavia. On Tuesday 49,000 passengers and 546 departures will be affected.”
The deadlock in the dispute showed no sign of being broken on Sunday with SAS, Swedish and Danish pilots unions and Norway’s employers association NHO saying no renewed contacts between the parties had been initiated.
The carrier created after World War 2, which remains part-owned by the Swedish and Danish governments, has said it was prepared to return to negotiations but warned that agreeing to pilots’ demands would seriously damage the company.
The airline industry’s employer body in Sweden has said pilots sought a 13% wage hike despite what it called already high average wages, demands it labelled as “extreme”.
The SAS Pilot Group, a union body representing 95% of the airline’s pilots in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, has said the dispute concerns more than wages, pointing to demands for more predictable working hours.
Having flirted with bankruptcy in 2012, SAS has run a net profit in each of the past four years. But rising fuel costs, volatile currencies and overcapacity among European airlines has put pressure on carriers, including SAS.
Sydbank analysts have estimated the strike costs the airline 60-million to 80-million krona per day, a rate which would wipe out the expected net profit in 2019 in just two weeks.
The strike at SAS does not affect flights operated by its partners, which make up about 30% of all departures.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Scandinavian airline SAS cuts 1,200 more flights as strike by pilots drags on
SAS has cancelled 2,800 flights so far as deadlock in wage dispute shows no sign of being broken
Image:
Stockholm — Scandinavian airline SAS cancelled more than 1,200 flights scheduled for Monday and Tuesday as a strike by pilots that has disrupted the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers entered its third day on Sunday.
SAS pilots went out on strike on Friday as wage talks broke down, grounding about 70% of the airline’s flights and affecting about 280,000 passengers including the latest cancellations.
“We deeply regret that our customers are affected by the ongoing pilot strike when SAS now cancels flights on Monday and Tuesday,” the airline said.
“The strike will affect an additional 61,000 passengers on Monday when 667 flights are cancelled across Scandinavia. On Tuesday 49,000 passengers and 546 departures will be affected.”
The deadlock in the dispute showed no sign of being broken on Sunday with SAS, Swedish and Danish pilots unions and Norway’s employers association NHO saying no renewed contacts between the parties had been initiated.
The carrier created after World War 2, which remains part-owned by the Swedish and Danish governments, has said it was prepared to return to negotiations but warned that agreeing to pilots’ demands would seriously damage the company.
The airline industry’s employer body in Sweden has said pilots sought a 13% wage hike despite what it called already high average wages, demands it labelled as “extreme”.
The SAS Pilot Group, a union body representing 95% of the airline’s pilots in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, has said the dispute concerns more than wages, pointing to demands for more predictable working hours.
Having flirted with bankruptcy in 2012, SAS has run a net profit in each of the past four years. But rising fuel costs, volatile currencies and overcapacity among European airlines has put pressure on carriers, including SAS.
Sydbank analysts have estimated the strike costs the airline 60-million to 80-million krona per day, a rate which would wipe out the expected net profit in 2019 in just two weeks.
The strike at SAS does not affect flights operated by its partners, which make up about 30% of all departures.
Reuters
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