Airline SAS Sees First Quarter Net Loss Widen Over Virus Standstill

Feb. 25—STOCKHOLM — Scandinavian airline SAS said on Thursday its first-quarter net loss widened compared to a year ago amid flight restrictions and other fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

The company made a net loss of 2 billion kronor (242 million dollars) in the three-month period ending in January, compared to a net loss of 861 million kronor in the same period a year ago.

Revenue shrank by three-quarters year-on-year to 2.28 billion kronor.

"An increase in number of cases has led to more stringent travel restrictions, with a consequent reduction in demand during the quarter and stalled recovery for the entire travel industry," chief executive Rickard Gustafson said.

He added that the airline believed that a "high vaccination rate is the most decisive factor for the authorities' willingness to ease travel restrictions and thus allow for the recovery of the airline industry."

During the three-month period, SAS said it flew 1 million passengers, including charter traffic, down 84 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The airline is owned chiefly by the governments of Denmark and Sweden.

Gustafson recently announced he is leaving SAS, latest by July 1, after 10 years at the helm.

___

(c)2021 Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (Hamburg, Germany)

Visit Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (Hamburg, Germany) at www.dpa.de/English.82.0.html

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.