Scandinavian carrier SAS has completed restructuring proceedings and has exited US Chapter 11 protection and Swedish company reorganisation.
The two-year process has seen a consortium including investment manager Castlelake, Lind Invest, Air France-KLM and the Danish government take control of the airline.
The milestone comes just ahead of the carrier’s inauguration into the SkyTeam alliance later this week, with SAS set to leave Star Alliance at the end of August and join SkyTeam on 1 September.
SAS also said that 18m passengers had travelled with the carrier in the fiscal year to date (November 2023 to July 2024), up 6.5pc on the same period in the previous fiscal year, and confirmed it had recorded its highest ever monthly profitability in July 2024.
SAS was originally founded on August 1, 1946, through a partnership between Denmark’s Det Danske Luftfartselskab, Norway’s Det Norske Luftfartselskap and Sweden’s Svensk Interkontinetal Lufttrafik.
The carrier was formed to handle intercontinental air traffic for the three countries, and the airline’s first transatlantic service between Stockholm and New York took off on September 17, 1946.
The group said that “Over the course of the restructuring proceedings, SAS has successfully restructured more than $2bn of debt, adjusted its aircraft fleet and related costs and reached agreements with key stakeholders, creditors and vendors”.
Commenting on the news Anko van der Werff, president and chief executive officer of SAS, said: “This is a historic day that marks the start of an exciting future for SAS’ customers, partners and colleagues. We have successfully completed our restructuring proceedings and we are now entering a new era.”
“It has been a complex process and I’m thankful for the constructive collaboration with creditors and partners, for the valuable support from the Board, as well as impressive efforts, energy and enthusiasm throughout our organisation. Efforts that made it possible to save and restart one of the finest companies in Scandinavia. Now, we must look ahead and complete the transformation that we have started, continue our commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, and take advantage of the opportunities in a growing market. We have an excellent team, we are shortly joining the SkyTeam alliance family, and we have every opportunity to remain a leader in our industry for generations to come.”
