In a dry and unemotional statement, the SAS Board has announced that conditions for its new 4 Excellence NG (4XNG) rescue plan now exist.

 

The troubled carrier, which has been fighting potential bankruptcy, said yesterday that eight out of eight union agreements have now been signed, although the Danish Pilot Union Agreement is still conditional upon confirmed approval by one third of its members.

 

The 4Excellence NG plan involves approximately SEK3bn ($420,000) of annual improvements from cost reductions and organizational restructuring of approximately the same amount of increased liquidity from asset sales.

 

As reported, the new plan will also deliver SEK3.5bn ($519,366) worth of new revolving credit facilities from banks and core shareholders (principally the governments of Sweden, Denmark and Norway-Ed) to secure financial preparedness conditional on final parliamentary approvals and agreement of the Danish Pilot Union.

 

The plan includes the following: new union agreements for personnel; the loss of 6,000 jobs; centralization of administration functions; reduction of compensation to market levels; new pension terms; outsourcing of call centres and ground handling.