Hundreds of layoffs and huge pay cuts are in store for employees of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) after the company posted losses of more than 1.3 billion kroner from the first six months of 2009. The Nordic airline now feels it has no other option but to make drastic cuts in its workforce. Read the full story

Before the end of the year, every passenger flying with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) will be able to fully check-in and leave their baggage at train stations across Scandinavia. The popular Nordic airline plans to install new automated machines at the region’s major train stations as early as autumn if everything goes well. Read the full story

In the most dramatic instance of recent cutbacks in the aviation industry, Scandinavian Airways (SAS) has made the tough decision to axe 40 percent of its entire global workforce as part of its massive restructuring plan. The move by the Nordic carrier comes on the heels of huge profit losses of 6.32 billion kronor (USD 757 million) in 2008. Read the full story

The financially embattled carrier Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has announced that it is selling off two of its subsidiaries: Spanair and airBaltic. It is hoped that by selling its stakes in the two budget carriers, SAS can pull itself out of financial trouble and better position itself for a strong 2009. Read the full story

Despite its admitted financial difficulties, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has approached the Estonian government with an offer to buy out the 34 percent stake it owns in Estonian Airlines. SAS already owns 49 percent of Estonian Airlines. Read the full story

The financially squeezed Nordic carrier, Scandinavian Airlines, has announced it will be cutting 5,000 of its normally scheduled departures from Copenhagen Airport during the winter season due to greatly decreased customer demand. Twenty-five destinations will be affected by the cutback, with flights to Frankfurt, Munich, Hannover, Cologne, Stuttgart, Brussels, Prague and Manchester most greatly reduced. Read the full story

In direct competition with Scandinavian Airlines SAS, budget carrier easyJet has started flying to and from Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport to both Milan and Geneva. On 27 October the first easyJet planes took off thus adding these two popular cities to its list of European low-cost destinations. Read the full story

Scandinavian airline SAS’s shares were temporarily suspended on Monday after Reuters reported that the airline has opened the first round of merger talks with Germany’s Lufthansa, Europe’s second-largest airline. There has been speculation that SAS would merge for several weeks now, and if Lufthansa can seal a deal it would solidify its already strong position in Europe’s air Read the full story

An atmosphere of bullying has emerged between the younger and older pilots who fly planes for Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), reports Aftenposten.no.

Aviation authorities are concerned that this behaviour could affect passenger safety and are demanding that SAS put a stop to it.

The group of younger pilots at SAS are reportedly bullying older pilots over the age of 60 in an attempt to get them to quit. Numerous derogatory emails, text messages and other threats have been levied at the older pilots in an attempt to drive them out of SAS, according to the newspaper Dagsavisen.

One 63 year-old pilot told Dagsavisen that pilots aged 60 and over are regularly called “bags of dirt, whores and pimps” by younger pilots. Another veteran SAS pilot was reportedly threatened to have his legs broken if he did not quit his job. This infighting has Norwegian aviation authorities very concerned that the conflicts are endangering the safety of passengers and crew.

The bullying seems to be a result of pending staff cutbacks at the financially strapped airline. The younger pilots are trying to protect their own jobs by bullying the older pilots into retiring early. But SAS pilots union representative Jens Lippestad states there is an existing agreement that all SAS union pilots retire at the age of 60. The fact that many aren’t retiring at that age is creating the tension.

SAS officials, meanwhile, deny there is any bullying problem between its pilots despite the results of a survey in which 160 of 800 pilots reported they were being harassed.