Having been there seen it etc I agree with RTO.
There are many business models that work in the airline industry without being a LCC. However, IMHO the only way SAS can survive is to compare itself with eg. Lufthansa, S'pore etc (STAR). They are both profitable airlines.
It all boils down to a few simple lines to compare with and see where it all goes wrong in the glass palace(s).
Number of employees per a/c
Seat Revenue
Seat cost
The other issue SAS has to struggle with are the unions who clearly don't give a rats about how salaries impact the cost structure and thereby survivability in the long run.
As the old saying goes - one can both have and eat the cake.
In a recent article in Forbes the average ticket (incl 1st class) LAX - LGA was $506 and the costs:
Fuel: 98
Labour:95
A/c ownership: 25
Non-A/c ownership: 17
Non-emploee labour: 32
Partners & merchants: 54
INterest: 12
other airline exp: 27
Taxes: 75
Misc: 37
Profit: 34
Last edited by jackx123; 24th Apr 2011 at 21:53.