Loss-making Scandinavian airline SAS will sell some of its assets and shed 6,000 staff to secure Government-backed loans and stay in business after years of struggling with high costs.
Analysts doubted the measures would be enough to keep the airline independent, as its structure, designed more to secure jobs and Nordic solidarity than generate profit, has hamstrung its ability to cope with soaring jet fuel costs and compete with discount carriers such as Ryanair and trimmer regional rival Norwegian Air Shuttle.
“This truly is our ‘final call’ if there is to be SAS in the future,” said chief executive Rickard Gustafson after launching a new rescue plan for the airline, which has not made a full-year profit since 2007.
The latest plan aims to buy SAS two years’ breathing space, after which banks and its major shareholders – the governments of Sweden, Norway and Denmark – will pull the plug.