SAS Narrows Loss As Air Travel Remains Muted

Scandinavian airline SAS said Wednesday it sees encouraging signs of travel increasing that it still faces "headwinds" from the global pandemic as it reported a narrower net loss

Stockholm, Sept 1 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Sep, 2021 ) :Scandinavian airline SAS said Wednesday it sees encouraging signs of travel increasing that it still faces "headwinds" from the global pandemic as it reported a narrower net loss.

The carrier reported a net loss of 1.36 billion ($157 million, 133 million Euros) Swedish kronor for the period of May to July, down from a net loss of 2.37 billion for the same period a year earlier.

"We noted encouraging signs during the summer season with demand slowly increasing," CEO Anko van der Werff, who took over the reins in July, said in a statement.

"Vaccination rates are also rising, but significant challenges remain ahead as new cases of the Delta variant are multiplying and delaying ramp-up," van der Werff added, noting that "imposed travel restrictions remain in force.

" Revenue rose to 3.98 billion kronor, from 2.5 billion a year earlier, the company said, driven mainly by increased demand, but the company noted this was still 70 percent below the same quarter of 2019, which was unaffected by Covid-19.

After cutting 5,000 jobs last year -- representing 40 percent of its workforce -- SAS announced in May this year an additional credit line of three billion kronor from the Danish and Swedish governments, its main shareholders, to get through the crisis.

Looking forward, the ailing airline said that "the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, with its accompanying uncertainties, makes it difficult to provide any guidance on the financial performance for the remainder of the fiscal year."