Pay talks between Scandinavian airline SAS and its pilots collapsed on Monday, triggering a strike that the company says puts the future of the airline at risk.
About 1,000 cockpit crew, who are pushing for an improved pay deal, are expected to join the strike even as the airline group seeks a financial lifeline.
SAS issued a warning that the strikes, which are set to begin as soon as possible, would be “devastating”.
“We will do our utmost to reach an agreement that is viable to secure the long-term competitiveness and financial sustainability of the company,” chief executive Anko van der Werff said.
Pilots have been fighting salary cuts demanded by management as part of a restructuring plan aimed at ensuring the survival of the company, which has suffered a string of losses since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020.
As talks broke down on Monday, the airline’s pilot union said walkouts would begin immediately.
Last weekend, easyJet and Ryanair staff staged strikes demanding better pay and conditions.
The protest action is affecting the travel industry as it tries to rebuild after a cycle of Covid lockdowns that largely closed the sector.
A strike could cost SAS between $11.2 million and $12.6m a day, Sydbank analyst Jacob Pedersen calculated, and the company's ticket sales for future flights could suffer from passengers being deterred.
“A strike at this point is devastating for SAS and puts the company’s future, together with the jobs of thousands of colleagues, at stake,” the airline said.
About 1,000 pilots in Denmark, Sweden and Norway will join the strike, the unions said.
“We blame this on SAS," Pilot Group chairman Martin Lindgren said. "We have finally realised that SAS doesn't want an agreement — SAS wants a strike.”
The airline's stock plunged more than 12 per cent in Stockholm.
“This is very bad news,” Mr van der Werff said.
“How on earth is a strike in the busiest week of the last two-and-a-half years going to help us find and attract investors?"
The loss-making airline is seeking to restructure its business by undertaking large cost cuts and converting debt to equity.
It estimated the strike would to lead to the cancellation of about 50 per cent of scheduled SAS flights and affect 30,000 passengers a day.
SAS, which serves destinations in Asia, Europe and the US, last month averaged 58,000 passengers a day.
Union leaders and management have been locked in negotiations since November and the collective agreement between the airline and the SAS Pilot Group union expired on April 1.
Pilots were angered by SAS's decision to hire new pilots through two new subsidiaries — Connect and Link — instead of first rehiring former employees dismissed during the pandemic, when almost half of its pilots lost their jobs.
A strike would include all pilots from parent company SAS Scandinavia, but not Link and Connect, a union that organises the 260 pilots attached to the two units. Neither would it affect SAS's external partners Xfly, Cityjet and Airbaltic, the company has said.
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
