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FINANCIAL WOES AT SAS

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SAS crisis sparks EuroBonus concerns

As SAS teeters on the edge of a possible bankruptcy, worried members of the airline's EuroBonus rewards programme remain concerned about whether their painstakingly accumulated points will retain any value.

SAS crisis sparks EuroBonus concerns

With roughly a month left until Christmas, worried SAS customers wonder if the company will last that long, and whether or not they will be able to use their EuroBonus points to purchase the perfect holiday gift.

“I believe in Santa Claus and in SAS, so I signed up for the EuroBonus Christmas calendar,” tweeted Sasha Vincic, one of 2.8 million EuroBonus customers.

Not only does a festive season calendar still have pride of place on the EuroBonus website, there is little to indicate that customers’ points may expire anytime soon.

“Stay calm! You’ve got several years left,” the website reads, explaining that all points in the EuroBonus system remain valid for four years after being earned.

Customers who have bought SAS flights with air miles could also be affected should SAS fail to avoid bankruptcy, a prospect which still hangs in the air despite the airline succeeding convincing eight union groups to sign on to a massive savings package on Monday.

“If you have bought a flight with SAS one should assume that the flight is cancelled and you cannot reclaim the money,” legal expert Katarina Karlsson with the Swedish Consumer Agency (Konsumentverket) told The Local, but added that talking about a SAS bankruptcy remains highly speculative.

However, should SAS go bankrupt, flights bought on credit cards would be covered by the issuing bank, while Karlsson urged customers who have used debit cards to check their conditions of use.

Some home insurance policies would also cover the expense, she said. However, flights bought using EuroBonus points could pose problems.

“Whether the miles will be refunded, depends on SAS partner airlines,” said Karlsson.

“It depends on how Star Alliance decides to solve the question.”

The German headquarters of Star Alliance, an alliance of 28 airlines including SAS and other industry heavyweights such as Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa, could not be reached for comment.

EuroBonus members are certainly important to SAS as they accounted for 41 percent of the company’s income according to its last annual report.

The EuroBonus website suffered performance problems recently due to a spike in visits Sveriges Radio (SR) reported.

And a call from a gold member to the EuroBonus team on Monday morning was rerouted to a general number as its representatives were too busy to respond.

EuroBonus members have also taken to social media outlets to express their concerns and frustrations.

”I’m gonna be properly pissed off if I lose my EuroBonus points. It’ll destroy my plans to go to Canada in the spring,” read one tweet on Monday, that also included an offensive hashtag.

Another user simply said: “Emptied my SAS EuroBonus account yday (sic). Booked a couple of hotel weekends. Fingers crossed…”

A SAS spokesperson told The Local the company was fielding questions about EuroBonus on all channels – by phone, on Facebook, via Twitter – but said the company’s intention was to “keep flying”.

She said that no plan of action for an eventual bankruptcy would be made public.

On Twitter, user Trond H. Bendikten injected a bit of ironic critique into the debate.

”The worst thing if SAS goes bankrupt is all the people who’ll lose their EuroBonus point. The 15,000 people who will lose their jobs, they can just get new ones…”

Ann Törnkvist

Follow Ann on Twitter here

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Danish U-turn: children with sick relatives should stay home

Children who live with someone ill with coronavirus-like symptoms should not attend kindergarten or school, Denmark's health minister has announced, responding to widespread concern surrounding the reopening of the country's schools.

Danish U-turn: children with sick relatives should stay home
Parents have been worried about the reopening. Photo: Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix
Magnus Heunicke announced the new policy in a press release sent out on Sunday, following widespread criticism of the guidance from the Danish Health Authority (Sundhetsstyrelsen) that having sick relatives at home should not prevent children returning when schools reopen this week. 
 

“Many have been unsure whether the right measures have been taken when schools and daycare services open up again on Wednesday,” Heunicke said in the press release. 
 
“In particular there have been questions over whether children should attend kindergarten or school if someone is infected with Covid-19 at home. This uncertainty is now being taken away by the government.” 
 
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Municipal governments in Aalborg, Aarhus and Odense, among others, had already responded to public unease about children bringing the infection from home by saying they would defy the health authority and allow the families of children who have sick people at home to keep them home. 
 
 

The Danish government's decision to overrule its own health authority sees the country's policy diverge from that of neighbouring Sweden, where the advice to parents is that children should be sent to school even if someone at home is ill. 
 
Heunicke said that the decision had followed a reappraisal of how likely it is that children will be able to follow hygiene requirements. 
 
“There are a number of strict requirements for cleaning, hygiene and self-insulation when there is a coronavirus infection at home. This can be really difficult for families with smaller children, and we understand that there are many who are unsure about this situation,” he said.  
 
“Therefore, in the government, we have decided, on a precautionary principle, that children living in a household with a person who has coronavirus should not attend school or daycare.” 
 
This decision applies only to children, and not to adult staff who work in schools or kindergartens, as the ministry believes adult staff will be better able to follow sanitary guidelines.  
 
According to a survey by Local Government Denmark, which represents the country's municipalities, over half of Denmark's municipalities plan to reopen schools and kindergartens on Wednesday, with the rest following no later than Monday. 
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