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Striking SAS pilots agree to fly back stranded charter passengers

Striking SAS pilots have agreed with the airline that they can fly over the weekend to bring back the thousands of charter flight passengers who would otherwise be left stranded.

Published: 7 July 2022 17:08 CEST
Striking SAS pilots agree to fly back stranded charter passengers
A Scandinavian airline SAS Embraer E195 aircraft lands at Kastrup airport on July 4, 202 after the 900 pilots at SAS went on strike. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT/AFP

In a press release published on Thursday, the SAS Pilot Group, an umbrella group for Danish, Norwegian and Swedish pilot unions, said that it had proposed to SAS’s management that some of the 900 pilots on strike would go back to work over the weekend to bring back the charter flight passengers. 

According to the unions, the proposal would require SAS to “withdraw the lockout it has imposed on the pilots”. 

“We assume that SAS will be willing to take its responsibility by not, with the help of other airlines or strike breakers, flying down new passengers to these destinations,” the union wrote.

SAS agreed to the proposal on Friday evening. 

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Thousands of charter passengers from Sweden, Denmark, and Norway risk being stranded this weekend, after pilots went on strike on Monday after delivering them to their destinations last weekend. 

Karin Nyman, SAS’s head of communications, said that the pilots had made their offer after the airline had once again asked pilots not to include pilots flying charter flights in the strike. 

“We have requested an exception for charters right from the start, which is a reasonable request to make,” she said. “Charter passengers find it very difficult to rebook their journeys if they become stranded, and that is something the pilots are still refusing. Now it’s reached the point where they want us to fly down with empty planes and fly back with the passengers.” 

The pilots say they will refuse to fly out new passengers to charter destinations as then there is a risk they, too, will be stranded. 

Last night, 200 Danish airline mechanics, who are members of the Dansk Metal union, launched their own strike in sympathy with the Danish pilots. SAS’s jets need to be serviced every third day, meaning SAS’s remaining jets could be grounded if an agreement is not reached. 

Member comments

  1. I’m currently stuck in Svalbard… if they can bring back some non-charter passengers too that’d be great.

  2. I’m currently stuck in Svalbard. If they’d bring back some non-charter passengers too that’d be great.

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TRAVEL NEWS

EXPLAINED: How SAS’s decision to switch airline alliance will affect travellers

Scandinavia's SAS airline has announced it is moving to SkyTeam from the Star Alliance, with knock-on effects on routes, points and lounges for travellers from Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

Published: 8 April 2024 17:08 CEST
EXPLAINED: How SAS's decision to switch airline alliance will affect travellers

In a statement posted on its website, the airline said the change would occur from August 31st 2024. 

SAS co-founded the Star Alliance, through which it is currently tied to 28 airlines, including Germany’s Lufthansa, the US’s United, Singapore Airlines, and Air China. 

But after Air France-KLM bought a $1.2bn stake in the airline last autumn, it has always been only a matter of time before the airline switched to their rival SkyTeam alliance, which includes Delta Airlines in the US, China Airlines in China, and Korean Airlines in the rest of Asia. 

Irina Busic, SAS’s press officer in Sweden, told The Local that the details of the switch had still to be decided. 

“It’s complex to change flight alliance,” she said. “There are a lot of contracts and agreements that have to be reviewed/renegotiated and IT-systems to be integrated.” 

But here are some of the things that are likely to change. 

Flight destinations and routes

The change will affect the partners SAS has in flights to far-flung destinations it does not serve directly, meaning passengers flying to the US are likely to fly the US leg of their journey with Delta rather than United Airlines. Those travelling to China are more likely to fly China Airlines than Air China and those travelling to Southeast Asia, more likely to fly with Korean Airlines than Singapore Airlines. 

The switch may also change the airports where SAS customers have stopovers or layovers, with fewer stops at Frankfurt, Lufthansa’s main European hub, and more at Amsterdam Schiphol (KLM) or Paris Charles de Gaulle (Air France). 

In the US, SkyTeam member Delta Airlines’s biggest hub is at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, whereas the biggest hub for Star Alliance member United Airlines is Chicago–O’Hare, which could affect where SAS passengers travelling to the US have to change planes. 

Because SkyTeam is a smaller alliance, with 19 members to the Star Alliance’s 26 members, the switch may also reduce the number of destinations SAS can serve though their alliance, although in its press release, the airline said it would still be able to offer customers flights to 1,060 destinations. 

What difference will the change make to SAS’s bonus programme? 

SAS said in the statement that its EuroBonus programme would remain “largely the same”, with loyal SAS customers keeping the points they have accrued and still able to spend them on flights with partner airlines. 

From September 1st, the airline said that EuroBonus members could enjoy “similar benefits” to today with “most” SkyTeam alliance airlines. 

Among other things, this means that EuroBonus Silver members will get extra baggage and priority check-in when travelling with most SkyTeam airlines. 

EuroBonus Gold and Diamond members, meanwhile, will receive benefits like “lounge access, fast track and priority boarding” when travelling with most SkyTeam airlines.

SAS customers will be able to use EuroBonus points to book bonus travel on most SkyTeam airlines for all flights from September 1st.

Until August 31st 2024, EuroBonus members will be able to use their points to book trips on Star Alliance airlines using the Star Alliance Bonus Trip booking tool, even if the travel date is after August 31st 2024.

What difference will it make to access to airport lounges? 

SkyTeam members offer around 750 lounges, with six dedicated SkyTeam lounges in airports around the world. This is slightly fewer than the roughly 1,000 lounges operated by Star Alliance members. 

 
 
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