‘SAS still talking to unions'

Airline still wants pay deals

Loss-making SAS has denied it has pulled out of talks with unions over new pay deals.

Its spokesman Sture Stolen said the "talks are ongoing", Reuters reported.

Mr Stolen said SAS, which is hoping to negotiate new deals with cabin crew, had not broken off the talks and "the door is open" to more negotiations.

However he declined to say whether any further talks with the unions had been fixed.

SAS, which today (October 7) reported a steep drop in September traffic, has drawn up a cost cutting programme aimed at saving it SEK4.5bn (€439m) a year.

SAS' group traffic and capacity both suffered declines of 17.7% year-on-year last month.

The airline said the market remained "unpredictable" and uncertainty surrounded any recovery.

The Group, which includes regional airlines Widerøe and Blue1, carried 2.2 million passengers last month, down 14.7% year-on-year.

SAS said it expected falling yields and load factors to hit its fourth quarter results.

Scandinavian Airlines, SAS' main passenger operation, carried 16.1% fewer passengers in September compared to the year before.

Intercontinental traffic fell 22.6% year-on-year last month with US routes hit by the closing of SAS' Seattle route.

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