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SAS said today that a pilot strike now in its 11th day threatened the airline's ability to access bridge financing without which it may be forced to radically downsize or could collapse, Reuters reported. SAS and unions were locked in more talks on Thursday to end a strike among most of its pilots at the peak of the holiday travel season, over conditions related to the Scandinavian carrier's rescue plan. "The strikes ... threaten the company's ability to ultimately successfully raise critically needed near-term and long-term capital to fund the company's successful reorganisation," SAS said in a statement. "In such an event, the company will need to consider selling valuable strategic assets under duress while also radically downsizing SAS's operations and fleet." Talks between SAS and pilot unions on Thursday were due to run until 2000 GMT at the latest, mediator Jan Sjolin said. "We really hope that we will reach an agreement today. These are constructive talks," he said. The parties resumed collective bargaining talks on Wednesday after negotiations broke down on July 4. SAS' chief negotiator Marianne Hernaes around midday told reporters outside the venue it was hard to tell whether a deal would be reached on Thursday. The carrier, whose main owners are the governments of Sweden and Denmark, cancelled 201 flights on Thursday, or 64% of those scheduled, according to FlightAware.

Embattled Scandinavian airline SAS and unions representing pilots will resume negotiations on Wednesday to try and agree a new labour deal to end a one-week strike, Reuters reported. SAS has canceled more than 1,200 flights since July 4 when talks with many of its pilots over a new collective bargaining agreement collapsed and they launched the crippling strike. "What has now happened is that we have asked the parties to gather in Stockholm from Wednesday," Swedish mediator Jan Sjolin said. Henrik Thyregod, head of the Danish pilots union told Reuters he was certain an outcome would be reached but was unsure of how long the negotiations would take. Spokespeople for SAS and the Norwegian and Swedish pilot unions also confirmed that the talks will resume but declined to elaborate on the content or expected outcome. The airline said on Monday it had informed mediators that it wishes to resume negotiations with the aim of "reaching a new collective agreement." The loss-making carrier has estimated the strike, now in its ninth day, is costing $10 million to $13 million a day.

Staffing shortages, bad weather, high fuel prices and runaway inflation — airlines face plenty of challenges as they seek to benefit from a strong travel rebound. But there’s at least one other complication in the mix: negotiating new pilot contracts, the New York Times reported. Each of the nation’s largest carriers is in the process of trying to strike a deal with pilots. In some cases, airlines appear ready to pay substantially higher wages, with two major airlines recently offering to raise pay more than 14 percent in the next year and a half. But money alone may not be enough. Pilot unions are also demanding changes that they say would improve operations and their members’ quality of life, particularly as flight disruptions throughout the recovery have left pilots feeling frustrated and overworked. They may be well positioned to get what they want, industry analysts say. A brewing pilot shortage was worsened during the pandemic when airlines encouraged thousands of pilots and other workers to accept buyouts and early-retirement offers. Now, with the industry hiring pilots at record numbers but struggling to attract, train and retain them, their unions are pushing hard for broader changes. Airlines in the United States have already hired more than 5,500 pilots this year, more than in any full year since at least 1990, according to Future & Active Pilot Advisors, a career consulting firm for pilots. The four largest carriers — American, Delta, Southwest and United — accounted for most of that hiring and collectively employ about 50,000 pilots. Those airlines say that they have had little trouble finding qualified candidates, though the smaller, regional airlines from which they hire are struggling.

Scandinavian airline SAS canceled almost 70% of its flights on Friday as a pilots strike stranded thousands of tourists overseas, Reuters reported. Some 181 flights, or 69% of those scheduled, were canceled on Friday, data from flight tracker FlightAware showed. SAS has been forced to cancel hundreds of flights since Monday when talks between the airline and pilots over a new collective bargaining agreement collapsed. The carrier, whose biggest owners are the Swedish and the Danish states, filed for chapter 11 protection in the United States this week. It held a first court hearing on Thursday in a process SAS expects will take up to a year. Since the talks broke down the only movement has been work toward an agreement between SAS and unions allowing the carrier to bring home stranded charter passengers booked on flights operated by SAS. A SAS spokeswoman said about 18 planes were set to repatriate such travellers on Friday while a negotiator for Dansk Metal, representing Danish pilots, said unions were still seeking assurances the planes would be used for no other purpose.

Hundreds of SAS flights were canceled on Thursday as the airline wrestled with a strike by pilots at its main SAS Scandinavia arm, overshadowing a traffic surge during June, Reuters reported. Talks between the airline and pilots over a new collective bargaining agreement collapsed on Monday, prompting a strike which adds to travel chaos in Europe and deepens the financial crisis at SAS, which estimated it would ground half its flights. The troubled airline, whose biggest owners are the Swedish and the Danish states, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States on Tuesday. The first hearing was due to begin at 1400 GMT in New York with SAS expecting the process to take between nine and 12 months. Tuesday's traffic figures highlighted what SAS was now missing in the peak summer period, with the airline flying 1.9 passengers in June, a 220% increase on the year. Data from flight tracker FlightAware showed 202 flights, 66% of the airline's daily total, were cancelled on Thursday. The Swedish pilots union said that the pilot associations had proposed making an exception for several weeks to SAS in order to repatriate stranded charter passengers. Charter companies have warned thousands of people could be stranded unless a solution for their return flights, which were due to be operated by SAS, could be reached.

A day after its pilots went on strike, SAS, the Scandinavian airline, said on Tuesday that it had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States, the latest reverberation in a summer of turmoil for European airlines, the New York Times reported. SAS described the filing, made in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, as the “next step” in a reorganization that would address the money-losing airline’s financial difficulties, including cost reductions of more than $700 million. It said it was in discussions with potential lenders who could provide $700 million in financing to support operations through the chapter 11 process. It expected to emerge from the process in nine to 12 months. SAS, which is the national airline of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, said that it would continue flying, although on Monday it called the pilots’ strike “devastating” and warned that it could cause the cancellation of half of its flights, affecting about 30,000 passengers daily. On Monday, SAS canceled 51 percent of its flights, according to FlightAware. By midday on Tuesday, nearly 80 percent of its flights had been canceled. SAS’s stock price fell about 15 percent Tuesday, extending a 5 percent decline the day before.

U.S. consumers lodged more than quadruple the number of complaints against U.S. airlines in April compared with pre-pandemic levels as on-time arrivals fell, according to a report seen by Reuters. The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) plans to announce later on Thursday that it received 5,079 complaints about airline service in April, up more than 320% over the 1,205 complaints received in April 2019. USDOT said 32% of complaints concerned refunds and 31% involved flights problems. In April 2022, major carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 76%, down from 77.2% in March and below the 79.8% rate in April 2019, the report said.

A bankruptcy judge approved a chapter 11 exit plan for Latam Airlines Group SA that puts $5.44 billion of fresh capital into the Chilean business, moving it closer to ending its pandemic-driven restructuring after two years, the Wall Street Journal reported. Judge James Garrity of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York said the chapter 11 plan resulted from “good faith, arm’s-length negotiations” among Latam and its stakeholders and provides the best available path to resolve its bankruptcy case. He also said the financial restructuring aims to maximize the value of Latam, the largest airline in Latin America, which filed for chapter 11 in New York in 2020 as pandemic restrictions shut down air travel in the region. Latam is handing control to major unsecured creditors including Sixth Street Partners, Strategic Value Partners LLC and Sculptor Capital Management, which agreed to backstop $3.67 billion of a planned capital raise. Current shareholders of Latam, including Delta Air Lines Inc. and Qatar Airways, will guarantee another $1.77 billion in common stock and convertible notes, while retaining minority stakes in the business. Latam said it expects to complete the chapter 11 process by the end of this year and will focus in coming months on the remaining steps to emergence, which include obtaining the necessary legal and regulatory approvals in Chile.

LATAM Airlines Group SA, the largest air transport group in Latin America, yesterday asked a bankruptcy judge to approve $2.75 billion in new loans to fund the company's exit from chapter 11, Reuters reported. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Garrity in Manhattan will review the request during a court hearing on June 23. LATAM, which has operating units in Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Peru, says it has commitments for $2.75 billion in loans from JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, Goldman Sachs Lending Partners LLC, Barclays Bank Plc, BNP Paribas, BNP Paribas Securities Corp and Natixis, with an additional $1.17 billion agreement to refinance and extend its existing bankruptcy loan. "This commitment secures us the full amount of financing required to complete our restructuring plan and, very importantly, with a degree of flexibility that allows us to optimize existing market conditions," LATAM Airlines Chief Executive Roberto Alvo said in a press release on Saturday. In addition to the judge approving the exit loans, LATAM is awaiting Judge Garrity's decision on whether to approve its overall restructuring plan. LATAM needs to secure its exit loans before emerging from bankruptcy and continuing to raise funds through a post-bankruptcy $800 million equity offering, according to court documents.