"SAS' activities and flight plan will not be affected by this Chapter 11 procedure, and SAS will continue to serve its customers normally", apart from the effects of the strike, assures in a press release the Nordic company, whose Danish and Swedish states are the main shareholders.
In the United States, recourse to Chapter 11 is a device that allows a company that can no longer repay its debt to restructure itself protected from its creditors while continuing its current operations.
SAS intends to use this procedure for a period of "nine to twelve months", said its general manager Anko van der Werff during a press conference.
One of the advantages of choosing protection in the United States rather than in other countries – such as Sweden where the headquarters is located – is to retain ownership of the company's planes, he explained.
U.S. Chapter 11 "aims to accelerate SAS's transformation by implementing key elements" of its ongoing SAS Forward savings plan, according to the company.
"We just have to do a lot more and go a lot faster," said company chairman Carsten Dilling, defending a "well-considered" decision in the face of SAS's too high "cost structure".
Weakened by the effects of Covid-19 and heavy recurring losses, SAS announced in February this savings plan of around 750 million euros per year, reinforced in June by a capital increase plan of one billion euros. euros.
Denmark, which like Sweden holds 21.8% of the capital, said it was ready to take a stake.
Sweden and Norway have given their agreement to transform their claims into capital.
© 2022 AFP