SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK, Copenhagen Kastrup) has opted to postpone interest payments on two hybrid bonds with a perpetual loan period, it revealed in a statement. The move is part of a radical new cost-savings plan it announced in February which it calls SAS Forward.

The suspension of interest payments on the perpetual capital securities “is made in accordance with the terms and conditions” attached to the securities, it said in the statement dated April 7.

The deferral concerns two half-yearly payments that were supposed to take place on April 25 and 26, for SEK36 million kronor (USD3.7 million) and SEK138 million (USD14.7 million) respectively, totalling SEK174 million (USD18.4 million).

The struggling Scandinavian flag carrier, whose shaky finances sustained a further blow from the pandemic, has said that the “transformation plan” that is SAS Forward aims to save SEK7.5 billion (USD786 million) a year while it also looks to raise more capital amid widening losses and an “unpredictable” future.

It underlined in its latest release that “the success of the programme and the ability to attract potential new capital relies on SAS fully achieving the cost reduction plan, which in turn depends upon SAS stakeholders’ full participation.”

A more comprehensive update on the progress of SAS Forward will be published later in April, it added.

Earlier on April 7, SAS released fresh traffic figures for March, showing that it carried 1.44 million passengers during the month, the highest since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020 and “an increase of 360% compared to the same month last year” with a year-on-year rise in capacity of 190%.

On April 1, the airline revealed details about its Summer 2022 ramp-up, including “up to 350 weekly flights between Scandinavia and Spain” and “11 destinations in Italy and seven destinations in Greece.” It is also adding a seasonal route from Stockholm Arlanda to Pärnu, Estonia’s “summer capital.” To North America, it will restart direct routes to Toronto Pearson from both Copenhagen Kastrup and Stockholm in June.

On April 4, SAS announced that its executive vice president and chief commercial officer, Karl Sandlund, will leave by October for a new position outside the company. It has begun a recruitment process for his successor. Sandlund commented that he would “closely follow the developments of SAS Forward, our plan which will ensure a sustainable future” for the airline.