Scandinavian Airlines-SAS has issued this report on April 2020 traffic:

SAS’ scheduled capacity fell with nearly 95% compared to last year as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. During April, only a limited network in Norway and Sweden was maintained.

“We continue to face challenging times that are radically impacting our business.  Even though no one can foresee exactly how passenger demand will evolve in the coming months and years, it is clear that it will take a much longer time than previously anticipated. In our view, it will take until 2022 before demand starts to reach pre-COVID-19 levels.

“The current situation forces us to take all possible measures to reduce costs and preserve cash to be able to emerge from this crisis as a sustainable, profitable and vital part of Scandinavian infrastructure.  Given the time it will take to ramp up production, we have unfortunately had to initiate processes to reduce the size of our future workforce by up to 5,000 full-time positions.

“As part of our ongoing work to safeguard our future, I’m grateful and pleased that we now have secured the SEK 3.3Bn revolving credit facility guaranteed by the states of Sweden and Denmark. This additional liquidity will, alongside our initiated cost reduction measures, give us the time needed explore further opportunities and financial support to safeguard our business,” says Rickard Gustafson, CEO SAS.

In other news, SAS has named our first Airbus A321LR  as Jarl Viking!

The airline continued on social media:

Ever since SAS was founded in Scandinavia in 1946, we have named our aircraft after the very first Scandinavians; the Vikings. The aircraft are named after kings and chiefs, explorers and conquerors, armors and rune carvers, and Gods in the Norse mythology.

Only a few exceptions have been made. That happened for instance when we in 2006 received an Airbus A319 which was named Christian Valdemar Viking, after Crown Princess of Denmark Mary and Crown Prince of Denmark Frederik’s first born, Prince Christian.