SAS Pilot Strike Enters Second Week (Mass Flight Cancellations Continue)

SAS pilots in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark began their strike on Monday last week (read more here), and the airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States on Tuesday (read more here).

The airline continues to cancel anywhere from 50% to 75% of its daily flights. Pilots outside these countries are not striking, and flights operated by SAS Link, SAS Connect, or their wetlease partners continue.

You can access SAS here.

I went through all the departing flights from Oslo, Copenhagen, and Arlanda shown on the SAS page for today (Monday July 11). The number of cancellations and operated flights is per 6 PM CET.

Oslo 108 Departing SK Marketed Flights

– SAS operated 26

– Codeshare partners operated 9

SAS completion rate is 26%.

Copenhagen 106 Departing SK Marketed Flights

– SAS operated 67

– Codeshare partners operated 1

SAS completion rate is 64%.

Arlanda 102 Departing SK Marketed Flights

– SAS Operated 52

– Codeshare partners operated 20

SAS completion rate is 63%.

On Monday, SAS operates 145 flights out of 286 from its three main hubs (OSL, CPH & ARN). This represents roughly 51% of its schedule but likely fewer overall seats.

SAS offers affected passengers refunds, rebookings, and offers to fly them later on tickets for flights that are not operating.

Passengers should be aware of that the EC 261/2004 applies in case of strikes too. The airline must book passengers to their final destinations at the earliest opportunity, even if this means moving them to non-partner flights.

The airline must also offer hotel accommodation and meals for those stranded overnight due to flight cancellations.

Conclusion

There is apparently no end in sight for this strike that is costing the airline $12M every day, and likely nobody is booking future travel with them right now (which affects cash flow).

The striking pilots don’t like that SAS hires pilots for subsidiaries outside of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, while not all the pilots furloughed during the pandemic have been recalled. SAS pays less for pilots outside of its home base and argues that it cannot survive without having a lower-cost base.

Obviously, this strike cannot go on forever, and likely the three governments must intervene if they wish to avoid worse situation.

There is need for pilots and it should not be difficult for them to find other place of employment if they are willing to live outside of Scandinavia.

I wish the pilots and the management could come to a conclusion that would suit both parties. It is very challenging for the affected passengers to reach their destinations or get back home due to busy flights on other airlines.