The pilot strike in SAS has led to great demand for airline seats at other companies. However, there are few tickets to be found at both Norwegian and Flyr, which has led to large sales of airline tickets privately. In marketplaces such as Finn and in various Facebook groups, there is an abundance of airline tickets and inquiries from people who want to buy unused tickets. On Wednesday, there are more than 500 airline tickets for sale at the Finn marketplace. Petter Holstad is among those who had to resort to resold airline tickets to get to Oslo this week. Holstad actually had a one-way ticket with SAS from Tromsø, but quickly realized that that trip was unlikely to happen. – I was quite desperate to get back to Oslo on time. Norwegian was sold out, SAS did not go, and Flyr was also sold out, he says. Tickets to spare Instead, Holstad had to buy a package of two tickets privately – round trip – from Harstad / Narvik airport. In addition, he had to take the Hurtigruten to get to Harstad. – The price for it all was around 10,000 kroner. The journey took about 14 hours, he says. Thus, Holstad has several tickets left over, which he is now in the process of selling. He has already received 15-20 inquiries about the tickets. One he has sold, while the other is vacant. He says that the tickets cost a lot more than the original price, since you have to pay a fee for name change. This is the subject of the dispute in the pilot strike The pilots are on strike because they fear loss of established working conditions if they apply for a job in SAS ‘new subsidiaries. This has been the development in recent years. Initially, the airline is owned by three national companies in Scandinavia. Photo: Torstein Bøe / NTB The goal is to save money and become more competitive. Over the years, the company struggles a lot with the economy and tries different strategies and group structures to increase profitability and lower costs. Photo: Erlend Aas / NTB Scandinavian Airlines Ireland will be based in Ireland and will compete with foreign companies, but will face opposition from the Swedish pilot association. In 2018, the company’s pilots will complain about working conditions and more will leave. 560 pilots are laid off and then dismissed, with an agreement on re-employment rights in SAS. Photo: MARTIN SYLVEST / AFP SAS Link is created. In addition, the company that was established in Ireland in 2017 will be renamed SAS Connect. Connect will be based in Copenhagen and enter into an agreement with Danish pilot associations. The pandemic is coming to an end. The pilots want to return to work, but are told to apply to the subsidiaries Link and Connect. Trade unions call it a breach of promise. Pilots are in armor and are suing SAS. Photo: Annika Byrde / NTB After months of talks, negotiations and finally mediation, the pilots go on strike. They refuse to be employed in subsidiaries with poorer working conditions than they had before the pandemic. SAS is struggling with the economy and is despairing over a strike in the middle of the high season. Photo: CHRIS ANDERSON / TT / NTB SAS and some subsidiaries are starting a court process in the USA to apply for bankruptcy protection, so-called chapter 11 petition. In practice, they can then not be filed for bankruptcy next year. This is a step in SAS’s rescue plan for its own finances. Photo: Lars Schröder / TT / NTB Danish SAS pilots warn of blockade against SAS ‘newly established subsidiary SAS Crew Services Denmark. – We do not want to risk the management doing the same thing again by moving work and production to empty companies to circumvent the agreement. They have done this before with the subsidiaries Link and Connect, says chief negotiator at Dansk Metal, Keld Bækkelund Hansen. SAS writes to news that this company will only have administrative employees, and that Dansk Metal has therefore misunderstood what the company will be doing. Show more Do you think you should have ice in your stomach OFFER AND DEMAND: Flight analyst Hans Jørgen Elnæs. Photo: Marit Sirum-Eikre / news On Wednesday, the striking SAS pilots and the management of the company sat down at the negotiating table again. Therefore, aviation analyst Hans Jørgen Elnæs believes that people should be a little patient before buying airline tickets. – I think I would wait a bit and see if SAS and the pilots agree. I do not know more than you, but I think they are not so far from an agreement. So if you are going to buy tickets a little ahead of time, I would wait a couple of days, because two to three thousand kroner is a lot of difference, says Elnæs. Info from SAS about the strike If a flight should be changed, you are entitled to be rebooked as soon as possible, rebooked at a later date or refund of the ticket. When rebooking, you are entitled to food / drink during the waiting period and if there is a need for accommodation as a result of the change, the airline will cover this. We always recommend taking care of receipts for any extra expenses directly related to a traffic disruption, so that you can apply for any compensation for this. The following now applies: If your flight has not been confirmed canceled: Free rebooking. If you are booked on a SAS flight departing between 26 June and 16 July 2022, you can rebook your trip to a later date free of charge. You can rebook a SAS flight on another date within the next 360 days to the same destination, if the same service class is available. If your flight is canceled: The rebooking process starts immediately and we will get back to you with information as soon as possible. During the summer period, there are unfortunately fewer places available to rebook to. Unfortunately, this means that there will practically be limited opportunities to find new places in approximately the same time period as your original trip. You can cancel yourself and get your ticket refunded. You can rebook at a later date or arrange alternative travel options within certain given limits. See all details on sas.no here: Travel and Service Updates | SAS At the same time, Elnæs believes that it will be more expensive to travel even after the strike. – This is not just in Norway. We also see that other large airlines in Europe are raising prices. This is because the demand has been so enormous, he says. According to Elnæs, this is due to the war in Ukraine, which has driven oil prices up. – Jet-fuel has increased by over 100 percent since last year. If that price persists over time, then the airlines will charge a higher ticket price, Elnæs believes.
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Paying dearly for airline tickets on Finn. Aircraft analyst asks people to wait for results of negotiations – news Troms and Finnmark
