ASIM, aug 29
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has successfully completed a two-year restructuring process, which included a $1.2 billion investment and the appointment of a new board of directors. The airline has restructured over $2 billion in debt, adjusted its aircraft fleet, and secured agreements with key stakeholders. With new principal owners such as Castlelake, Air France-KLM, Lind Invest, and the Danish State, SAS has also organized a competitive exit financing process, ensuring that creditors will be paid in the coming month. This restructuring follows SAS’s voluntary Chapter 11 filing in the US in July 2022 and subsequent reorganization in Sweden in March 2024, after facing financial difficulties due to the prolonged pandemic and failing to achieve expected cost savings.
As a result of these efforts, SAS has not only improved its financial standing but also recorded its best operational performance in history during the summer of 2024, with July marking its highest-ever monthly profitability. The airline is now on track to achieve an annual cost reduction target of approximately SEK 7.5 billion as part of the SAS FORWARD plan. With new leadership under Chairman Kåre Schultz, SAS is set to continue driving transformative changes in the aviation industry and will join the SkyTeam alliance as its 15th airline partner on September 1, 2024.
