SAS reaches agreements with pilots’ unions, ending pilot strike

SAS Group announced (19-Jul-2022) it reached agreement with SAS Scandinavia pilots' unions on a new five and a half year collective bargaining agreement. As a result, the 15 days of strike action have concluded and SAS operations will resume in accordance with the regular traffic programme "as soon as possible". Details of the agreement include:

• Cost savings in line with the set targets in the SAS FORWARD plan relating to the pilots' terms and conditions;
• Agreements imply increased productivity for the SAS Scandinavia pilots and increased flexibility in seasonal production. The agreement's terms and conditions also yield a lowered unit cost for the pilots;
• Pending litigation previously initiated by the pilots' unions and individual pilots against SAS will be withdrawn. In accordance with a restructuring support agreement to be entered into between the parties in the chapter 11 process, SAS has granted the unions a general unsecured pre-petition claim for the pilots of SEK1 billion (EUR95.58 million) in SAS voluntary financial restructuring process. Distributions under that unsecured claim will be capped at SEK100 million (EUR9.56 million) and made over five and a half years, corresponding to the term of the agreements;
• SAS has committed to the rehire and subsequent full time employment of 450 pilots, in tandem with the ramp-up of flight operations until 2024.

The agreements between are subject to approval by the members of all four unions, including SPF (Svensk Pilotförening), NSF/NF (Norsk Flygerforbund), SNF (SAS Norge Pilotforening) and DPF (Dansk Pilotforening). As SAS is currently undergoing a voluntary financial restructuring in the US, the final agreements are also subject to approval by a US federal court. The group expects to receive the necessary approvals "within the next few weeks". [more - original PR]