SAS threatens massive route shutdown

[vincent]

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is prepared to hand over a large share of the company's traffic to partner airline Lufthansa, if airline personnel refuse to acquiesce to spending cuts of SEK 2 billion

 

SAS has threatened to let German airline giant Lufthansa take over all existing regional routes between Scandinavia and Germany: currently SAS' single-largest traffic market. Several loss-generating overseas routes could also be given to Lufthansa, if SAS fails to secure favourable agreements with its affiliated labour unions.

 

The routes represent hundreds of thousands of passengers that SAS will be unable to transport profitably, unless the airline can successfully implement massive labor-side cost cuts. For SAS workers, the prospect of lost routes has put thousands of jobs on the line. The airline's Danish pilots and cabin crew personnel have yet to secure collective agreements with SAS management.

 

The cutbacks were mentioned in the minutes of a meeting last week between SAS management and affiliated unions.

 

Other alternatives to crippling wage cuts and longer working hours include the establishment of new, discount airlines in Denmark and Sweden, with workers hired under totally new, less lucrative labour agreements. SAS is also considering the closure of low-price venture Snowflake, and the shutdown of SAS commuter routes.

 

"These are a few of the alternatives currently under consideration to restore profitability to SAS. The outcome will ultimately depend on negotiations with labour groups. The airline's executive board will make its final decision at a meeting on23 March," said Sture Stølen, director of investor relations at SAS.

 

Labour groups affiliated with SAS in Denmark say alternative spending cuts could cost between 10,000 and 15,000 jobs throughout Scandinavia. Some cuts in overhead have already been secured, and cutbacks will affect personnel with varying degrees of severity.

 

"Those labour groups that deliver the goods will reap the benefits, while those groups that fail to meet our standards will face the consequences," said Stølen, echoing last week's warning from SAS director Jørgen Lindegaard.

 

SAS and Lufthansa currently operate Scandinavian routes in a joint venture, with a total of 58 daily departures between the two regions. SAS services the most departures, but the company has been unable to earn money on this regional traffic, due to price pressures and high overhead.

 

Meanwhile, selected overseas routes are running up billions of kroner in losses for SAS, and this traffic may well be left to Lufthansa or other partners in the Star Alliance, such as United Airlines, Singapore Airlines, or Thai Airways.

 

Most of the 39 unions affiliated with SAS have already reached new collective bargaining agreements with the airlines, but agreements are still in limbo with the largest unions. Cabin crewmembers are expected to meet again in Denmark today, but relations between airline management and cabin personnel are reportedly still chilly.

 

"We're fighting a tough battle to save jobs, because the alternative isn't worth considering. But we've gotten absolutely no understanding from management in our refusal to take a 20 percent pay cut, while working 30 percent more," said Verner Lundtoft Jensen, chairman of the cabin workers' labour union, CAU.

 

Danish pilots are also still in talks with management. The two labour groups are expected to shoulder nearly two-thirds of SAS' total personnel cost cuts.

 

 

wenn ich den Text so überfliegw klingt das mehr nach drohung als nach ernsthaften Plänen

 

visit travel-v.com

jetzt mit timetables!

[JMO]

Naja, bringt net so viel, wenn man hier einfach nur text reinkopiert und dann noch auf englisch(was wohl einige hier noch nicht wirklich können),

Ohne eine kurze zusammenfassung auf Deutsch!!!

 

Wollte ich egtl. schon lange mal gesagt ahben, dass das ständige einfügen kopierter PM, nicht so gut ist! Wieso nicht selber ne kurze zusammenfassung schreiben und dann nen link zur original PM???

 

GreetZ,

Jan

[munich]

@ JMO

Seh ich nicht so!

 

Mir ist eine original Kopie bei weitem lieber, als eine (vielleicht auch noch falsche) Zusammenfassung oder übersetzung.

 

Und um einen Artikel wie den oben stehenden, zumindest vom Sinn zu erfassen, ist soooo viel Englisch auch nicht von Nöten, dass man es den Usern eines Luftfahrtforums nicht zutrauen könnte.

 

@ vincent

 

Ja natürlich ist es eine Drohung - und zwar an die Belegschaft! Steht ja schon in der Überschrift, dass sie drohen.