Big risk for airline strikes after the easter holidays

It is just over two weeks ago the SAS Pilot Group (SPG), which consists of the representatives of the scandinavian pilotfacken, announced that it will leave the negotiations for a new collective agreement and portends conflict.

the employers ' Association for transport companies, representing the SAS, and the counterparty SPG stood so far apart in negotiations that they decided to call in a mediator, which now has until 26 april to one of the pilots and the company. Found no solution erupts strike at midnight the same day.

gone, and the mediator has held several meetings with the parties, both in Denmark and in Sweden, but without any greater success.

" It is a great distance between us. There is an ongoing discussion now but it is still a great distance, " says Wilhelm Tersmeden, president of the Swedish Pilotförenings the SAS section.

SPG:s dissatisfaction is lifted primarily on three points. Partly, it is about the pilots ' unpredictable working hours. The second is a cooperation agreement which has recently been made redundant, as ”relating to the pilots ' role in the company, turordningslistor and career paths,” according to Tersmeden.

And so are the wages. SPG think that SAS pilots have lagged behind vis-à-vis the other pilots after you have passed on worse terms and conditions when the company reached a critical stage for a number of years ago. But the two main points are the cooperation agreements and the predictability of working hours.

" It's the biggest mountain we have to get over. As long as we have not resolved the issues, it is difficult to get on with other things, " says Wilhelm Tersmeden, who also points out that all three points need to reach a discussion and a solution to the conflict is not going to break out next weekend.

think Jan Ohlsson, flygexpert with long experience both from within the industry and flygjournalist, not to hope.

"Because it is difficult pilotbrist and at the same time accelerating losses among the many airlines this is not a unique situation," he says.

Earlier in the week came the Lufthansa with its annual report for the year 2018, where the company showed a loss of the equivalent of 3.5 billion. Jan Ohlsson compare the SAS with the German giant and finds that the SAS are moving in the same direction, if they would give too much

they Would move forward with the position, 15% are pilotlönen it would probably be devastating when, at the same time have a shrinking market and increasing competition, " he says.

is calculated on the SPG's requirements, compared to the Carriers ' data on what a SAS pilot earn in the cut – 93.000 sek per month, including allowances and add-ons.

the Organization's head of negotiations Simon Granevärn do not want to speak out during the ongoing mediation process, however, has previously compared the pilots ' demands with the rest of the labour market in Sweden with a salary increase at an average of 2.3 per cent in the year.

Jan Ohlsson assessing the risk that negotiations end in a strike that big, and it is something travellers the world over can have to become accustomed in the future, if not pilotbristen suddenly turns. He take SAS as an example:

– Should you go with something like this you have two options to do it. Either you lay down the lines which do not become profitable, or you can bring in subcontractors with lower salaries.

of subcontractors in parts of its business, the so-called wet lease companies.

" they will of course need to do more of if they go with the pilotföreningens requirements. But at the same time experiencing the subcontractors also, that the rest of the industry, that they can't get their hands on the pilots and their pilots also increase the requirements that the SAS pilots have done.

– Is not satisfied with the salaries they can go on to another company that can pay them.

According to the united nations flygorgan ICAO, which charted the pilotbristen will be 350.000 new pilots before 2026.

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