luftfart.nu:
Extra flights from no fewer than six different airlines fly - or will fly in the near future - for SAS. The reason is that SAS's permanent supplier of CRJ900 aircraft, CityJet, lacks staff.
The companies in which SAS leases capacity counts German WDL Aviation, Faroese Atlantic Airways, Estonian Regional Jet OÜ and Danish Danish Air Transport, Jet Time and Alsie Express.
"It is common for our industry to use ad hoc partners while we have long-term strategic partners. Ad hoc partners are usually hired due to various reasons such as aircraft, engineering, crew capacity, etc., "writes Mariam Skovfoged, Press Officer in SAS, in an email to the editorial board adding:
»During the autumn we use several operators until our long-term partner CityJet has recruited the crew they need. '
ONE THIRD OF THE PILOTS HAS LEFT CITYJET
Just over a month ago, staff shortages in CityJet by The Irish Times were linked with over 700 canceled SAS flights in just three months.
In the spring it came to light that about one third of the Danish pilots in CityJet had chosen to leave their position.
"Many have gotten enough because they feel that CityJet is constantly challenging the terms of our agreement," said an anonymous pilot at that time.
Since then, the employees' union, the Airline's Personal Union, FPU, accused CityJet of not less than eight breaches of the employee's agreement and raised the company in the Labor Court.
The editorial board has contacted CityJet, but is still waiting to hear from the company.
JET TIME PRIORITIES ASSISTANCE TO SAS
Of the temporary staff who will assist SAS in the coming months, Regional Jet is already flying for SAS with ATR72 aircraft. From mid September to end of November, the company will also assist with a CRJ900 on 52 weekly flights to destinations such as Birmingham, Bologna, Munich, Bucharest, Geneva, Warsaw, Trondheim and Tallinn - all flights of flights operated mainly by CityJet.
From the Danish Jet Time, which also flew to SAS in spring 2018, the assistance to SAS consists of a Boeing 737-700. Jet Time will produce 270 block hours for SAS over the next three months, says Birthe Madsen, Deputy Director of Jet Time, to the editorial board.
"It is a nice task for a company of our size. After a busy summer, we now have free capacity to fly ACMI tasks (hire of airplane with crew, maintenance and insurance red.) And here SAS is first in line, "she says.
Jet Time will fly SAS routes from Copenhagen to Bologna, Manchester, Brussels, Trondheim and home base for SAS's Irish subsidiary, London.
Just SAS's subsidiary, SAS Ireland, abbreviated SAIL, has also had certain challenges with deliveries as agreed to the parent company during the summer months with 61 cancellations in July.
The other airlines with which SAS has leased capacity consists of the assistance of a British Aerospace 146 (WDL Aviation), an Airbus A319 (Atlantic Airways), a Mcdonnell Douglas MD-82 (Danish Air Transport) and ATR72-500 (Alsie Express ).