SAS braces for annual loss amid tough competition
SCANDINAVIAN airline SAS has reported a fourth consecutive annual loss in 2011 and said it would accelerate a 5bn Swedish crown (£473.3m) plan to cut costs and boost revenue.
The group, half-owned by Sweden, Norway and Denmark, has faced competitive pressure in its home Nordic markets from Norwegian Air Shuttle and Ryanair. A buoyant Norwegian recently placed a big aircraft order.
SAS chief executive Rickard Gustafson said the macro-economic outlook for the airline business remained tough.
“We foresee a continued weak economic development in Europe and that what we are seeing in the fourth quarter of 2011 will be what we can expect for 2012,” he said yesterday.
Gustafson said the airline’s latest restructuring plan, called 4Excellence, which aims to reduce unit costs by three to five per cent, would be accelerated this year and next.