A report released by the Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) on Tuesday (May 28) suggested that the six-day strike that was held from the end of April till the beginning of May has incurred losses of around 650 million Swedish Kroner or $68 million.
The second quarter report released by the airline revealed that the carrier came to a bargaining agreement when all parties came to a collective decision and that cost the airline loss of 1.2 billion Kronor or $125million.
CEO Richard Gustafson commented that the added burden of the settlement money added to the complications of rising fuel cost, weakening Swedish currency and tough competition in the profit-making of the company.
Gustafson also added in his comments that the results for the three-month period that ended on April 30, “is far from satisfying.”
The strike had begun from April 26 after failed talks between the airline authorities and the SAS Pilot Group, which comprises of 95 percent of the company’s pilots in Sweden, Denmark as well as Norway.
More than 1,400 members of the SAS Pilots group in Sweden, Denmark and Norway refused to work their jobs on April 26th and began the strike until an agreement was reached on May 02 that reportedly included a 3.5 percent salary increase and more predictable work schedules for the protesting pilots.
According to experts, the airline will have to work hard to build the shaken trust and be lenient with claiming money from the 400 thousand customers who have been adversely affected by the strike.
