SAS lost half its workforce in two years, then its pilots struck and it filed Chapter 11

SAS entered the pandemic with a cost structure built for a full-service carrier competing against Norwegian and Ryanair on price. Between 2019 and 2021 its workforce fell from 10,445 full-time equivalents to 5,216 — a 50 percent cut. Losses mounted: SEK 10 billion in 2020, SEK 6.5 billion in 2021, SEK 7.8 billion in 2022.

The restructuring plan, called SAS Forward, required further concessions from pilots. In July 2022 nearly 1,000 SAS pilots went on strike over wages and cost-cutting. The strike lasted 15 days and crippled operations. On 5 July 2022, one day after the strike began, SAS filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States. The Swedish government, which owned 21.8 percent, said it would not inject new capital.

SAS emerged from Chapter 11 in mid-2024 under new ownership led by Air France-KLM and the Danish government. It left Star Alliance after 27 years and joined SkyTeam. The airline returned aircraft including two Airbus A350s that were barely two years old — capacity bought for routes over Russia that no longer existed.