Category Archives: Scandinavian Airlines-SAS

SAS reports passenger traffic increased 50% in June

SAS issued this traffic report for June 2021:

More than 600,000 passengers flew with SAS in June, an increase of some 50% compared with May. As a result of increased demand, SAS raised capacity during the month almost 30% with a final load factor of 48%, up 12 percentage points compared with May.

“We are delighted to welcome more passengers in pace with the gradual increase in demand. SAS is continuing to open routes to popular summer destinations and is increasing capacity on existing routes to meet demand. In light of certain remaining restrictions, we are doing everything we can to facilitate a smooth travel experience for our passengers. The SAS Travel Ready Center digital tool allows passengers track updates to travel restrictions and prepare their trip online, thus ensuring everything is ready when they arrive at the airport,” says Karl Sandlund, acting CEO of SAS.

SAS scheduled traffic	Jun21	Change¹	Nov20- Jun21	Change¹
ASK (Mill.)	1 364	220.5%	7 711	-55.3%
RPK (Mill.)	653	193.3%	2 586	-76.7%
Passenger load factor	47.9%	-4.5 p u	33.5%	-30.7 p u
No. of passengers (000)	609	85.6%	2,868	-70.5%

Geographical development, schedule	Jun21 vs. Jun20		Nov20- Jun21 vs. Nov19-Jun20
	RPK	ASK	RPK	ASK
Intercontinental	843.7%	848.7%	-91.2%	-56.9%
Europe/Intrascandinavia	421.9%	327.8%	-78.7%	-69.2%
Domestic	52.4%	56.9%	-48.0%	-25.1%

SAS charter traffic	Jun21	Change¹	Nov20- Jun21	Change¹
ASK (Mill.)	24	1344.0%	58	-93.1%
RPK (Mill.)	10	1555.7%	23	-96.9%
Load factor	40.5%	+5.2 p u	39.4%	-47.7 p u
No. of passengers (000)	4	4421.2%	8	-96.6%

SAS total traffic (scheduled and charter)	Jun21	Change¹	Nov20- Jun21	Change¹
ASK (Mill.)	1 388	224.9%	7 770	-57.1%
RPK (Mill.)	663	196.8%	2 609	-77.9%
Load factor	47.8%	-4.5 p u	33.6%	-31.7 p u
No. of passengers (000)	614	86.9%	2,877	-71.2%

¹ Change compared to same period last year. p u = percentage units

Preliminary yield and PASK	Jun21	Nominal change	FX adjusted change
Yield, SEK	1.07	-44.4%	-44.7%
PASK, SEK	0.51	-49.2%	-49.5%

			Jun21
Punctuality (arrival 15 min)			89.7%
Regularity			99.0%
Change in total CO₂emissions, rolling 12 months			-70.2%
Change in CO₂emissions per available seat kilometer			-12.3%
Carbon offsetting of passenger related emissions			67%

Definitions:

RPK – Revenue passenger kilometers
ASK – Available seat kilometers
Load factor – RPK/ASK
Yield – Passenger revenues/RPK (scheduled)
PASK – Passenger revenues/ASK (scheduled)
Change in CO₂emissions per available seat kilometers – SAS passenger related carbon emissions divided with total available seat kilometers (incl. non-revenue and EuroBonus), rolling 12 months
Carbon offsetting of passenger related emissions – Share of SAS passenger related carbon emissions compensated by SAS (EuroBonus members, youth tickets and SAS’ staff travel)

From fiscal year 2020 we report change in CO₂ emissions in total and per Available Seat Kilometers (ASK) to align with our overall goal to reduce our total CO₂ emissions by 25% by 2025, compared to 2005.

SAS sees a 20% increase in traffic in May

Scandinavian Airlines-SAS issued this traffic report for May 2021:

In May, more than 400,000 passengers flew with SAS, an increase of about 20% compared with April. During the month, SAS increased capacity 9% to meet higher demand. Passenger numbers remain low compared with a normal year, but the increase compared with April is also reflected in an improved load factor, which rose almost 6 percentage points.

“We are looking forward to the summer and are pleased with the gradual increase in demand. To reduce uncertainty when booking flights, SAS is offering more flexible ticket rules and generous rebooking alternatives. To make it easier for passengers, we are also launching SAS Travel Ready Center, a digital tool to upload necessary travel documents and to access information about current travel restrictions,” says Karl Sandlund, acting CEO of SAS.

SAS scheduled traffic	May21	Change¹	Nov20- May21	Change¹
ASK (Mill.)	1,078	513.6%	6,347	-62.3%
RPK (Mill.)	389	297.7%	1,932	-82.2%
Passenger load factor	36.1%	-19.6 p.p.	30.4%	-34.1 p.p.
No. of passengers (000)	404	155.6%	2,259	-76.0%

Geographical development, schedule	May21 vs. May20		Nov20- May21 vs. Nov19-May20
	RPK	ASK	RPK	ASK
Intercontinental	n/a	n/a	-94.1%	-63.3%
Europe/Intrascandinavia	744.1%	586.8%	-84.9%	-76.4%
Domestic	119.9%	179.4%	-55.0%	-30.8%

SAS charter traffic	May21	Change¹	Nov20- May21	Change¹
ASK (Mill.)	0	n/a	35	-95.9%
RPK (Mill.)	0	4,898.7%	13	-98.2%
Load factor	25.0%	n/a	38.6%	-48.5 p.p.
No. of passengers (000)	0	3,766.7%	4	-98.5%

SAS total traffic (scheduled and charter)	May21	Change¹	Nov20- May21	Change¹
ASK (Mill.)	1,079	513.8%	6,382	-63.9%
RPK (Mill.)	389	297.8%	1,945	-83.2%
Load factor	36.1%	-19.6 p.p.	30.5%	-35.1 p.p.
No. of passengers (000)	404	155.7%	2.263	-76.5%

¹ Change compared to same period last year. p u = percentage units

Preliminary yield and PASK	May21	Nominal change	FX adjusted change
Yield, SEK	1.20	-39.5%	-42.0%
PASK, SEK	0.43	-60.8%	-62.4%

			May21
Punctuality (arrival 15 min)			92.4%
Regularity			99.7%
Change in total CO₂emissions, rolling 12 months			-75.0%
Change in CO₂emissions per available seat kilometer			-11.5%
Carbon offsetting of passenger related emissions			61%

Definitions:

RPK – Revenue passenger kilometers

ASK – Available seat kilometers
Load factor – RPK/ASK
Yield – Passenger revenues/RPK (scheduled)
PASK – Passenger revenues/ASK (scheduled)
Change in CO₂emissions per available seat kilometers – SAS passenger related carbon emissions divided with total available seat kilometers (incl. non-revenue and EuroBonus), rolling 12 months
Carbon offsetting of passenger related emissions – Share of SAS passenger related carbon emissions compensated by SAS (EuroBonus members, youth tickets and SAS’ staff travel)

Top Copyright Photo: Scandinavian Airlines-SAS Airbus A320-251N WL SE-ROI (msn 9247) ZRH (Andi Hiltl). Image: 949004.

SAS aircraft slide show:

SAS restarts its route to Tokyo

SAS will reopen the direct route between Japan and Scandinavia starting in July. The first departure from Copenhagen will take off on Saturday, July 10, with a return flight from Tokyo, Haneda Airport, on Monday, July 12.

The route will be operated twice a week, with departures on Wednesdays and Saturdays from Copenhagen to Haneda. Returning flights will operate on Mondays and Fridays, from Haneda to Copenhagen.

SAS reports on the COVID-19 impacted results of the second quarter

Scandinavian Airlines-SAS issued this financial report on the second quarter:

Q2 2021 – A QUARTER DOMINATED BY THE ONGOING PANDEMIC

FEBRUARY 2021–APRIL 2021

Revenue: MSEK 1,932 (5,264)
Income before tax (EBT): MSEK -2,361 (-3,722)
Income before tax and items affecting comparability: MSEK -2,361 (-3,714)
Net income for the period: MSEK -2,433 (-3,470)
Earnings per common share: SEK -0.35 (-9.15)

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS DURING THE QUARTER

The Board of SAS appointed Anko van der Werff as President and CEO. The Board concurrently appointed Karl Sandlund, Chief Commercial Officer at SAS, as acting President and CEO.
SAS secured financing for the majority of its aircraft deliveries until the second quarter of 2022.

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS AFTER THE QUARTER

SAS has ensured that there is support from the main owners, the Governments of Denmark and Sweden, to gain access to a credit facility amounting to SEK 3.0 billion.

NOVEMBER 2020–APRIL 2021

Revenue: MSEK 4,214 (14,971)
Income before tax (EBT): MSEK-4,297 (-4,809)
Income before tax and items affecting comparability: MSEK -4,309 (-4,792)
Net income for the period: MSEK -4,483 (-4,331)
Earnings per common share: SEK -0.64 (-11.49)

COMMENTS BY THE CEO

New coronavirus cases remained high during the quarter, resulting in strict travel restrictions and low demand for flights. Focus for the quarter has been on lowering SAS’ costs, preserving liquidity and further strengthening SAS’ future competitiveness. The increase in vaccination rates provides some hope for the relaxation of restrictions, and an increase in demand ahead of the important summer season.

CONTINUED NEGATIVE IMPACT FROM THE PANDEMIC

Even if the number of people vaccinated is growing globally, high numbers of new cases and strict travel restrictions continue to impact society and slow recovery for the airline industry. Demand remained low during the second quarter and the number of passengers fell 2.4 million year-on-year, and was down 140,000 on the previous quarter.

SAS is continuing to successfully adapt production to the prevailing circumstances, which is reflected with an unchanged load factor compared with the previous quarter. As a direct consequence of fewer passengers, revenue fell SEK 3.3 billion (-63%) year-on-year and SEK 350 million (-15%) compared with our first quarter.

Weak demand makes it necessary to continue to adapt operations and reduce costs to offset the substantial loss of revenue. This has resulted in costs being SEK 4.6 billion (down: -54%) lower year-on-year and almost SEK 0.5 billion (down: -11%) lower than in the previous quarter. Despite the loss for the quarter amounting to SEK 2.4 billion, SAS posted an improved EBIT for the first time since the pandemic’s outbreak, both year-on-year and compared with the previous quarter.

Another prioritized area is to secure liquidity for when demand once again normalizes. Through active efforts to improve operational cash flow in parallel with SAS securing a number of major financing transactions, cash at the end of the quarter amounted to SEK 4.4 billion. Down only SEK 300 million compared with the end of the first quarter. Moreover, SAS has secured financing for the majority of its aircraft deliveries until the second quarter of 2022.

PENT-UP DEMAND AHEAD OF THE IMPORTANT SUMMER SEASON

Infection, delayed vaccinations and continued stringent travel restrictions have led to a slower than hoped for recovery. However, SAS is ready to welcome our customers back on board as travel restrictions ease ahead of the important summer season. For the summer, SAS is opening 180 direct routes and also increasing capacity on domestic routes within the Scandinavian countries. After the quarter ended, we also announced an extended partnership with Airtours over the next four years, starting in the summer of 2021 and corresponding to a value of approximately SEK 800 million.

To reduce uncertainty when booking flights, SAS is offering more flexible ticket rules and generous rebooking alternatives. We are also now launching SAS Travel Ready Center, a digital tool, to make it easier for passengers to access information about current travel restrictions concerning their destinations and to upload necessary travel documents.

Together with an increased belief in relaxed restrictions and a number of positively received campaigns, these activities have increased forward bookings for the summer and autumn, albeit from lower levels compared with what is typical for this time of the year.

Customers’ booking patterns have also changed during the pandemic. Many customers are now increasingly choosing to book their tickets much closer to their travel dates, which makes it difficult to predict demand during the summer. The most crucial factor for an airline industry recovery is the relaxation of travel restrictions. Since the rates of infection and vaccinations are decisive in this regard, SAS is carefully following vaccination trends across the world.

The prevailing uncertainty means that access to liquidity is essential for all airlines. SAS has therefore ensured that there is support from the major shareholders, the Governments of Denmark and Sweden, to gain access to a credit line facility amounting to SEK 3.0 billion. The aim of credit line facility is to create a liquidity buffer as a complement to other ongoing activities at SAS to reduce costs and strengthen liquidity.

ADAPTATION TO CHANGED MARKET CONDITIONS

SAS expects significantly changed market conditions following the pandemic, with a greater number of leisure travelers and even more intense competition.

Retaining our position as market leader in Scandinavia following the pandemic will require SAS to continue to adapt operations to future market conditions. During the pandemic, SAS has streamlined all aspects of its operations, reduced the number of employees, entered into new collective agreements to increase productivity and reached agreements concerning frozen salary levels. These necessary measures have had a substantial impact and reduced personnel expenses almost 35% year-on-year. Moreover, we have negotiated agreements with suppliers, which has resulted in deferred payments, lower costs and a higher variable component in relation to fixed costs.

However, there will be even greater requirements for efficiency and seasonally adapting operations moving forward. Access to flexible and suitable production is required to be able to offer a complete network and a timetable adapted to Scandinavian requirements for business, leisure and regional destinations. Accordingly, SAS is continuing to develop its operational model that has proved successful in the past few years.

SAS has signed a new collective bargaining agreement for pilots and cabin crew with the Danish union FPU which is a part of FH (The Danish Confederation of Trade Unions). The new agreement means that SAS can establish a complementary base in Copenhagen. With the agreement, SAS improves the flexibility and seasonal adaptations required to maintain its leading position in Scandinavia. As a first step, SAS intends to create new workplaces in Denmark instead of reopening the base in Malaga that closed earlier as a direct result of the pandemic. The new Danish operation will be established using our European operating license, which guarantees a quick and cost-efficient start of operations.

SAS remains committed to its ambitious sustainability target of reducing carbon emissions 25% already by 2025 compared with the base year 2005. In the short term, an accelerated phase-out of older aircrafts means that the share of new, fuel-efficient aircraft in the fleet is rapidly increasing. This is also having a direct impact on our emissions reporting, where carbon emissions per available seat kilometer decreased more than 10% year-on-year. During the quarter, we also secured a minimum of 20% of our planned need of sustainable aviation fuel until 2025.

To conclude, on behalf of the Board of Directors and all the employees at SAS, myself included, I would like to thank Rickard Gustafson, who held the position as President and CEO of SAS with a great level of commitment for a decade. Rickard applied a good leadership culture in his leadership of the company through the necessary change process applicable for SAS and the airline industry as a whole. We wish him every success with his new assignment. At the same time, I would like to wish Anko van der Werff a warm welcome as SAS’ new CEO in July.

I would also like to thank all of my colleagues at SAS for their commitment and endeavors as well as our customers for all their support. As Scandinavia’s leading airline, we look forward to being able to welcome our passengers back on board.

Karl Sandlund

Acting President and CEO, Stockholm, May 27, 2021

Top Copyright Photo: Scandinavian Airlines-SAS Airbus A350-941 SE-RSB (msn 378) IAD (Brian McDonough). Image: 949631.

SAS aircraft slide show:

SAS to restore 6 routes from Stockholm, extends Airtours agreement

SAS will resume service from Stockholm (Arlanda) on the following routes in June:

Alanya, Turkey June 12

Athens June 3

Beirut June 15

Milan (Malpensa) June 2

St. Petersburg June 17

Split June 5

In addition, the Gothenburg (Göteborg) – Palma de Mallorca route will be restored on June 5.

In other news, SAS and Airtours are extending their sales agreement through 2024.

SAS will transport Airtours customers from Stockholm Arlanda and Gothenburg for this summer 2021 travel season. This will be expanded in the summer of 2022.

Top Copyright Photo: Scandinavian Airlines-SAS Boeing 737-76N WL SE-RJX (msn 34754) MUC (Arnd Wolf). Image: 949407.

SAS aircraft slide show:

SAS to resume service to Newark on July 3

Scandinavian Airlines-SAS it is resuming its direct route from Oslo to Newark on July 3, 2021.

The Newark route will start with two weekly round trips, departing from Oslo on Wednesdays and Saturdays and returning on Thursdays and Sundays. SAS will then continuously review a possible increase in frequency based on demand.

On March 13, 2020, the pandemic put a temporary stop to SAS’ direct route between Oslo and Newark. Over a year later, the route is finally reopening and will be operated by the Airbus A330 with 266 seats.

SAS will also continue to fly to Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington from Copenhagen.

Top Copyright Photo: Scandinavian Airlines-SAS Airbus A330-343 LN-RKT (msn 1697) LAX (Michael B. Ing). Image: 946391.

SAS aircraft slide show:

SAS starts a new route from Luleå to London

Scandinavian Airlines-SAS made this announcement:

SAS will introduce a seasonal route with non-stop flights from Luleå to London, Heathrow, starting December 17, 2021, to March 21, 2022. Flights will operate twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, and it will be the only direct link between Luleå and the UK.

Luleå and the Swedish Lapland region attracts travelers with many high-end hotels and activities suited for the English market. The timetable also works well for weekend trips to London from Luleå and will shorten the distance from the North of Sweden to one of the world’s great capitals and business regions.

The route will be operated with Airbus A320 aircraft.

Top Copyright Photo: Scandinavian Airlines-SAS Airbus A320-251N WL SE-ROY (msn 9316) ARN (Stefan Sjogren). Image: 948819.

SAS aircraft slide show:

SAS sees only a 2% increase in traffic in April

Scandinavian Airlines-SAS issued this traffic report for April 2021:

In April, nearly 320,000 passengers flew with SAS, an increase of about 2% compared with March. While traffic and demand remain far below normal levels, they improved substantially compared with April last year when traffic was essentially at a standstill at the start of the pandemic. SAS is continuing to efficiently adapt its production to prevailing demand, which was reflected in an unchanged load factor compared with March.

“We have noted that willingness to book strongly correlates with vaccination levels and the relaxation of travel restrictions, and that customers are continuing to book at short notice. There is undoubtedly a considerable pent-up need to travel, which we hope to meet as we are now approaching the important summer season. In the coming summer, SAS is flying to 100 destinations, which provides us with good preconditions to meet our customers’ travel needs,” says Karl Sandlund, Acting CEO of SAS.

SAS scheduled traffic	Apr21	Change¹	Nov20- Apr21	Change¹
ASK (Mill.)	983	385.4%	5 269	-68.4%
RPK (Mill.)	299	455.7%	1 543	-85.7%
Passenger load factor	30.4%	+3.9 p u	29.3%	-35.3 p u
No. of passengers (000)	319	240.0%	1 855	-79.9%

Geographical development, schedule	Apr21 vs. Apr20		Nov20- Apr21 vs. Nov19-Apr20
	RPK	ASK	RPK	ASK
Intercontinental	2757.2%	4376.9%	-95.4%	-69.9%
Europe/Intrascandinavia	1587.2%	810.9%	-88.3%	-80.9%
Domestic	210.0%	111.5%	-61.6%	-38.5%

SAS charter traffic	Apr21	Change¹	Nov20- Apr21	Change¹
ASK (Mill.)	3	-90.8%	34	-95.9%
RPK (Mill.)	1	-87.0%	13	-98.2%
Load factor	40.1%	+11.8 p u	38.8%	-48.4 p u
No. of passengers (000)	0.3	-76.8%	4	-98.5%

SAS total traffic (scheduled and charter)	Apr21	Change¹	Nov20- Apr21	Change¹
ASK (Mill.)	986	323.8%	5 303	-69.7%
RPK (Mill.)	301	381.5%	1 556	-86.5%
Load factor	30.5%	+3.7 p u	29.3%	-36.3 p u
No. of passengers (000)	319	235.9%	1 859	-80.4%

¹ Change compared to same period last year. p u = percentage units

Preliminary yield and PASK	Apr21	Nominal change	FX adjusted change
Yield, SEK	1.24	-24.6%	-27.3%
PASK, SEK	0.38	-13.6%	-16.8%

			Apr21
Punctuality (arrival 15 min)			86.6%
Regularity			99.5%
Change in total CO₂emissions, rolling 12 months			-78.4%
Change in CO₂emissions per available seat kilometer			-10.6%
Carbon offsetting of passenger related emissions			52%

Definitions:

Top Copyright Photo: Scandinavian Airlines-SAS Airbus A320-251N WL SE-ROZ (msn 9323) ZRH (Andi Hiltl). Image: 950841.

SAS Slide Show:

SAS: Continued strict travel restrictions, but Easter holidays lead to increase in travel during March

SAS has issued its traffic figures for March 2021:

In March 310,000 passengers flew with SAS, an increase of about 40% compared with February, but almost 70% lower than the same month last year. The increased demand led to an improvement in the load factor compared with February by 5 percentage points to 31%. The load factor continues to be generally higher on SAS’ Scandinavian and European traffic and amounted to 44% in March, which is an improvement of 2 percentage points compared with February.

“The number of passengers and future bookings has increased during the month, but from very low levels. The development of the demand for air travel is entirely dependent on ongoing vaccinations and that travel restrictions can be eased and coordinated between countries and regions. Although the market for the aviation industry remains challenging, we succeeded in securing favorable financing agreements for future deliveries of aircraft from Airbus during the month. The new aircraft take us toward a unified fleet with significantly lower fuel consumption and emissions,” says Rickard Gustafson, CEO of SAS.

SAS scheduled traffic	Mar21	Change¹	Nov20- Mar21	Change¹
ASK (Mill.)	865	-62,2%	4 285	-74,0%
RPK (Mill.)	266	-76,1%	1 243	-88,4%
Passenger load factor	30,8%	-17,9 p u	29,0%	-36,0 p u
No. of passengers (000)	313	-68,6%	1,536	-83,2%

Geographical development, schedule	Mar21 vs. Mar20		Nov20- Mar21 vs. Nov19-Mar20
	RPK	ASK	RPK	ASK
Intercontinental	-92,3%	-50,3%	-96,3%	-75,8%
Europe/Intrascandinavia	-82,8%	-81,6%	-90,9%	-84,8%
Domestic	-41,6%	-36,8%	-67,6%	-46,0%

SAS charter traffic	Mar21	Change¹	Nov20- Mar21	Change¹
ASK (Mill.)	6	-94,7%	32	-96,1%
RPK (Mill.)	2	-96,9%	12	-98,3%
Load factor	40,8%	-30,6 p u	38,6%	-50,7 p u
No. of passengers (000)	1	-97,6%	3	-98,6%

SAS total traffic (scheduled and charter)	Mar21	Change¹	Nov20- Mar21	Change¹
ASK (Mill.)	870	-63,6%	4 317	-75,0%
RPK (Mill.)	268	-77,4%	1 256	-89,0%
Load factor	30,8%	-18,8 p u	29,1%	-37,1 p u
No. of passengers (000)	313	-69,3%	1,539	-83,6%

¹ Change compared to same period last year. p u = percentage units

Preliminary yield and PASK	Mar21	Nominal change	FX adjusted change
Yield, SEK	1.29	26.7%	32.7%
PASK, SEK	0.40	-19.9%	-16.1%

			Mar21
Punctuality (arrival 15 min)			90.8%
Regularity			99.4%
Change in total CO₂emissions, rolling 12 months			-81.1%
Change in CO₂emissions per available seat kilometer			-9.3%
Carbon offsetting of passenger related emissions			47%

Definitions:

Top Copyright Photo: Scandinavian Airlines-SAS Airbus A320-251N WL SE-ROX (msn 9330) PMI (Javier Rodriguez). Image: 951133.

SAS aircraft slide show:

CDB Aviation and SAS expand relationship with new transaction for four Airbus aircraft

SAS took delivery of a new Airbus A350-900 on lease from CDB Aviation on Friday, March 26, 2021 in Toulouse, France. (Photo: Business Wire)

CDB Aviation, a wholly owned Irish subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co., Limited, announced a new sale and leaseback transaction for a fleet of four Airbus aircraft with its existing customer, Scandinavia’s flagship airline, SAS.

The agreement incorporates three Airbus A320neo and one A350-900 aircraft, which are leased to SAS on a long-term basis. The carrier already took delivery of the A350 on Friday, March 26, 2021. The remaining three A320neos are expected to be delivered during the spring of 2022.