SAS Scandinavian Airlines Progresses With Restructuring

DALLAS — SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK) has revealed that it is “making steady progress” with its “SAS Forward’ restructuring program as it attempts to return to profitability.

This process included the airline entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US in July 2022.

Fleet Restructuring

Discussions with aircraft lessors regarding leasing agreements of many of its jets have now been concluded. SK has said that these have led to new contracts with 15 lessors covering 59 airframes in total. Once the bankruptcy courts have approved the new arrangements, this is expected to achieve savings of up to SKr1bn (US$96m) for the airline.

The move will bring SK’s total fleet to 134 aircraft, with 22 owned by SK, 77 held under finance agreements and the remaining 35 leased via third parties.

Regarding the new agreements, SK CEO Anko van der Werff said, “We are grateful to our lessors for working constructively with us. We continue making progress in our transformation journey and in becoming a more competitive airline.”

Seeking Additional Financing

Meanwhile, the airline is still waiting to confirm when it will receive its second round of debtor-in-possession financing.

The airline reached an agreement in 2022 to acquire US$700m in debtor-in-possession financing. It received the first amount of US$350m in September 2022. However, it still needs to make some changes to meet the conditions set out to receive the second US4350m.

It has said that it hopes to receive the additional financing during the second quarter, which begins next month. This will allow the carrier to complete its restricting and hopefully emerge from Chapter 11 protection during the second half of this year.

https://airwaysmag.com/sas-releases-q4-results/

Featured Image: SK Boeing 737-700 (SE-RJX). Photo: Alberto Cucini/Airways.