Scandinavian SAS posts net loss caused by incidents

By Margarita Snegireva.  Scandinavian airline operator SAS AB on Wednesday said it swung to a net loss in the fourth quarter, mainly due to the grounding of its turboprop fleet after a number of crash landings.

Photo: Scandinavian SAS posts net loss caused by incidents

Scandinavian SAS posts net loss caused by incidents

The Stockholm-based company said the incidents, which caused no deaths or serious injuries, cost it around 500 million kronor (euro53 million; US$78 million) in the quarter in lost revenues and other costs.

SAS grounded its Bombardier-made Dash 8 Q400 aircraft fleet in October last year after three crash landings, and said it expects this decision to also cost the company between 700 million kronor and 800 million kronor in 2008.

SAS Group, Scandinavian Airlines System , is a company based in Stockholm, Sweden. The company is owned by SAS Danmark A/S, SAS Norge AS and SAS Sverige AB, those companies are owned by SAS AB . SAS Group owns several airlines in Europe.

SAS Group is the main company in the SAS consortium, and is owned 50% of the Scandinavian governments (Sweden (21.4%), Norway through the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry (14.3%) and Denmark (14.3%)) and the remaining 50% publicly held and traded on the stock market at Stockholm Stock Exchange, Copenhagen Stock Exchange and Oslo Stock Exchange. The only major private owner is Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (7.4%).

SAS Group owns 100% of SAS Scandinavian Airlines Sverige, SAS Scandinavian Airlines Danmark, SAS Scandinavian Airlines Norge and Blue1. SAS owns 99.6% of Widerøe, 100.0% Spanair, 49% Estonian Air, 47.2% Air Baltic, 37,5% in Air Greenland, 25% of Aerolineas de Baleares and Skyways Holdings and 20% of BMI. SAS Group also owns 100% of SAS Cargo Group.