Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), a joint venture between Denmark and Sweden, has attracted the attention of a group of undisclosed foreign investors that have shown their interest in the possibility of acquiring the airline, local media reported.
On June 1, 2022, people familiar with the matter told Dagens Industri that undisclosed investors have already appointed advisors for initial negotiations with SAS. Negotiations between parties should include an evaluation of whether the loss-making airline can meet requirements to proceed with its rescue plan as well as the long-term restructuring process.
News follows the recent warning of the airline’s chief executive (CEO) Anko Van der Werff that the carrier may face court administration unless it manages to get a deal on cost savings. Speaking at the quarterly earnings meeting which took place on May 31, 2022, the CEO outlined that the carrier did not reach an agreement with its aircraft lessors yet over the fleet simplifying plan as one of the cost-cutting measures.
Currently, SAS aims to cut its wide-body aircraft fleet, which includes Airbus A330 and A350 jets, as the airline finds it challenging to operate long-haul flights due to the remaining air travel restrictions across the Asia region as well as the closure of airspace over Russia.
“If people are still aiming for or expecting that there will be a magical solution to the challenges that we’re faced with, I think they are wrong,” the CEO was cited as saying by Airline Weekly. “If SAS is unable to find the right outcome for us to be competitive then we may be forced to go to court.”
SAS has already cut around 4,000 flights from its ongoing summer season schedule, which equals approximately 5% of all planned operations in the summer of 2022. According to the carrier, such a decision was made due to a flight crew shortage.