Stockholm-based Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) mentioned on Wednesday it has exited U.S. Chapter 11 chapter proceedings, with the corporate’s CEO touting a “new era” with a stronger stability sheet and new house owners.
SAS restructured debt of greater than $2 billion, adjusted its fleet and delisted its inventory in a course of that worn out the stakes of its greater than 250,000 former house owners.
“This is truly a new era for SAS with a much stronger position, lower debt and lower cost,” SAS CEO Anko van der Werff instructed Reuters, including that the airline had seen a robust operational efficiency through the latest summer time season.
SAS mentioned ongoing value cuts helped it submit its highest-ever month-to-month profitability in July and it sees alternatives in a rising market, with out offering additional particulars on earnings.
“Now, we must look ahead and complete the transformation that we have started,” van der Werff mentioned.
SAS sought chapter safety in July 2022 after years of combating excessive prices and low demand, resulting in a court-approved plan making Air France-KLM, hedge fund Castlelake, funding supervisor Lind Invest and the Danish authorities its new house owners.
SAS had initially forecast the method would take between 9 and 12 months, however this was revised a number of occasions.
Air France-KLM will initially maintain a 19.9% stake in SAS, boosting the French-Dutch group’s footprint in Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
Air France-KLM may elevate its stake and turn out to be a controlling shareholder after a minimal of two years, topic to regulatory situations and monetary efficiency.
SAS will change its buyer loyalty program subsequent month to SkyTeam, of which Air France-KLM is a number one member, from Star Alliance, which incorporates Lufthansa and United Airlines.
“SAS, Air France and KLM customers will now have a larger number of destinations via codeshares,” Air France-KLM CEO Benjamin Smith mentioned in an announcement.
SAS mentioned it exits the courtroom proceedings with a complete funding of $1.2 billion, comprising $475 million in new unlisted fairness and $725 million in secured convertible debt.
Regional rival Norwegian Air has seen the same restructuring from 2020 to 2021, rising with a slimmed-down fleet and decrease debt.
On Tuesday, SAS reached a wage cope with its cabin crew in Norway, ending a labor strike over pay and dealing situations, which it mentioned would help operations.
Source: www.dailysabah.com