So the strike hit SAS and the travelers

The pilot strike at SAS in April hit both travelers and the company severely. The strike lasted a total of seven days, between April 26 and May 2.

More than 4,000 flights were canceled and over 370,000 travelers were hit when SAS's Scandinavian pilots struck. The whole must have cost the company SEK 650 million, according to TT.

The conflict, which also took place in Denmark and Norway, was about the fact that SAS's Scandinavian pilots' wages have not increased despite productivity increases.

During the conflict, the Swedish Pilot Association, SPF, wrote in a press release that since 2009 SAS's Swedish pilots have reduced their wages by about 20 percent in relation to the pay mark and that productivity has simultaneously increased by 20 percent.

SPF also believed that SAS's Swedish pilots made great sacrifices to save the company from bankruptcy in 2012. Another requirement was better conditions regarding working hours.

In a debate article in Expressen, Mattias Dahl, CEO of the Swedish Federation of Employers' Federation of Swedish Airlines, SFB, wrote that the pilot union's picture of the situation was incorrect.

In retrospect, SAS CEO Rickard Gustafson said he believes the company did everything it could to avoid a conflict and regretted that it was still a strike.

After the strike, the Swedish business community announced that it will not pay any conflict compensation to the airline when it is considered that SAS has breached the so-called wage mark that has not yet been set for the years 2020 and 2021.

According to the employer, the bid for a new collective agreement that was rejected by the pilot union meant greater opportunities to influence the schedule and wage increases of about 2.3 percent. According to the employer estimates, the pilots' demands would mean around 13 percent in salary increases, which was not confirmed by the union.

When the parties finally reached an agreement, the Swedish Pilot Association had to back down in their salary requirements, but received through the requirements for scheduling.

A major question for the affected travelers has been whether they should receive compensation for the canceled departures. The General Complaints Board, ARN, has made the assessment that SAS does not have to pay compensation for the canceled flights. Compensation is not the same as the compensation paid for the costs of tickets at other airlines.