After the cancelation of over 4,000 flights affecting more than 380,000 passengers, Scandinavian airline SAS has reached an agreement with the pilots’ union which sees the 7-day strike come to an end, thought continued disruption of flights as a consequence of strike was expected.
More than 1,400 pilots in Denmark, Norway and Sweden went on strike after the main pilots’ union failed to reach a collective bargaining agreement with the company. One of the principal points of negotiation was scheduling, which at times would see pilots working seven days in a row, while a 13 percent pay increase was being sought in comparison to 2.3 percent offered by SAS. It is understood that agreement was reached whereby pilots’ salary would be increased by 3.5 percent for 2019, while greater job security and more predictable work schedules were also offered.
SAS CEO Rickard Gustafson told media in Stockholm that: “I’m relieved to inform our customers and employees that we can now put this conflict behind us,” adding that “Of course this has cost us both money and trust,” when referring to the economic impact the strike had had on the airline. Estimates put the cost of the strike at between 60 and 80 million krona (US$6 and US$8 million) per day. While the share value of SAS has fallen consistently since February, reducing in value by nearly one third by the end of the strike, the announcement of the successful negotiations saw that value increase by nine percent the day after.
