SAS Pilots Strike Reaches 11th Day As Talks Continue, More Flights Canceled

The SAS pilots strike, one of the many events expected to have a major impact on European travel this summer, reached its 11^th day on Thursday.

Talks between the pilots union, which is striking over wage issues, and SAS continued on Thursday, and Reuters reported that mediator Jan Sjolin called the talks “constructive” and said, “We really hope that we will reach an agreement today,” but large-scale cancellations continue.

On Thursday, SAS canceled another 240 flights, adding to a growing total that has reached over 2,550 flight cancellations, affecting over 270,000 passengers.

According to SAS, the strike is costing the airline more than $12 million per day and more than $122 million total since its start earlier this month.

SAS said on Thursday that it had “sufficient liquidity to meet its business obligations in the near term,” but added that a “prolonged strike means that the Company’s limited cash reserves…will erode very quickly in the face of a continuing pilot strike.”

“We must reach an agreement and end the strike as soon as possible,” SAS president and CEO Anko van der Werff said. “That will require us to find a solution that is acceptable to all stakeholders that have expressed their intention to support SAS.”

According to van der Werff, the ongoing strike is putting the success of its bankruptcy filing, a financial restructuring plan that would allow it “to implement key elements of our SAS FORWARD transformation plan,” in jeopardy. SAS FORWARD, which the carrier unveiled earlier this year, is a plan to fully transform SAS including its network, fleet, and more.

SAS had told its partners at the time that the bankruptcy filing would have “no impact on our customers or our relationship with you as a partner and we will continue to operate our business as usual,” including its loyalty program EuroBonus.

“As a Travel Agent or Tour Operator you may continue to book flights. SAS’ reservations and all other customer services and systems are fully expected to continue as they have been,” SAS’s message said.