SAS Taking Conservative Approach To Summer
Capacity
Kurt
Hofmann February 24, 2023
Credit: SAS
Scandinavian
Airlines’ (SAS) fiscal 2023 first quarter (Q1), which is typically a lot weaker
than other quarters, featured steady increases in passengers and revenue.
Nonetheless,
the carrier plans a conservative approach for its summer program and is ruling
out a return to its full Asia program as it is not possible to fly over Russian
airspace.
The carrier
reported a SEK2.5 billion ($240 million) pre-tax loss for the three months to
Jan. 31, a small improvement from its SEK2.6 billion loss for the same period a
year prior.
During the
airline’s fiscal Q1 results call Feb. 24, SAS President and CEO Anko van der
Werff said the carrier is prepared for a healthy summer 2023 and will add 20
new routes. “This means that we will have a total of more than 5,000 weekly
flights to over 100 destinations this summer,” Van der Werff said. The new
summer program includes more than 200 routes.
Reflecting
on recent news that Lufthansa plans to reduce 34,000 flights to stabilize its
summer 2023 operations, SAS is following a different process. “We are more
conservative with the planning for the forthcoming summer. We will take the
other approach and add more capacity, if necessary,” Van der Werff said, as the
entire SAS fleet is manned for the summer operations. It is a very different
playing field in 2023 and will be far more under control, thanks to a more
conservative approach, he added.
Asked by
Aviation Daily about long haul operations and what the closed Russian and
Ukrainian airspace means for SAS’s Asian operations, the CEO said, “let me say
this is the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine, and it is terrible to see
still what’s going on. It is also clear to see by now this will be not over in
the next few weeks or months.”
Van der
Werff told Aviation Daily that the carrier is constantly accessing what that
means for SAS but made clear that a comeback of its full Asia network is
unlikely. “We are not going back to as many Asian destinations that we flew
prior to the pandemic,” he said. “And I’ll have to see a structural solution to
the Russian-Ukrainian war before we are able to do that.”
He believes
that over time SAS can absorb the missing Asian routes and grow to the U.S.
“But in order for Asia to really go back, then you need Russian overflying to
open up again,” van der Werff added.
Related to
that, SAS will launch new Aalborg-New York services starting in April,
operating the Airbus A321LR on the route. The carrier is also re-launching its
Copenhagen-New York JFK services in its fiscal second quarter (Q2), which will
begin with five weekly flights and ramp up to daily flights in the
summer.
As of Jan.
31, SAS operates 129 aircraft, of which 28 are under wet-lease contracts. Four
of SAS’s Boeing 737-800s are undergoing a phase-out process.
SAS has a
total of 31 aircraft on order. Thirteen A320neos and five Embraer E195-100s for
SAS Link are expected for delivery this year. In 2024, seven A320neos and two
A350-900s are scheduled, as well as four A320neos in 2025.
During
fiscal Q1, the carrier took delivery of two A320neos. “We are one of the
biggest operators of this type,” CFO Erno Hildén said. The two A320neos are
funded by competitive sale and lease contracts.
The quarter
also demonstrated a comeback to pre-pandemic levels for SAS. Total number of
passengers grew by 48% compared to the same period last year, Van der Werff
said.
Load factor
reached 69.3%, nearing SAS’s pre-pandemic levels of 69.5% for its fiscal 2020
Q1. At the same time, currency-adjusted passenger yield increased almost 7%
compared to Q1 2022.
On Jan. 13,
SAS concluded its lessor negotiations as part of the chapter 11 process. SAS
reached agreements with a total of 15 lessors, representing 59 aircraft.
Through the amended lease agreements, SAS expects to achieve its targeted
annual cost savings of at least SEK1 billion in reduced aircraft lease expenses
and annual cash flow items relating to aircraft financing.
The SAS restructuring
program “Forward,” which was launched in February 2022, is targeting SEK7.5
billion annual cost savings by fiscal 2026. “This is a journey for us,” Van der
Werff said. “And we are making progress.”
SAS
continues to work toward meeting certain conditions under the
debtor-in-possession (DIP) term loan agreement to access the second tranche of
DIP financing as soon as possible during the fiscal Q2 (February–April 2023).
The carrier also expects completion of the chapter 11 process in the second half
of 2023.
Looking
ahead, Van de Werff said economic uncertainty is still a headwind, but a strong
recovery in passenger demand is expected to continue.
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