Amexpat

It looks like DY may have a strike that may last a while starting at the end of May?

I see some short term positives for SAS. The first is that talk of the strike has caused many to book SAS instead of DY already before the strike, and if there is a strike a good chunk of DY's passengers will have to switch to SAS. The second is that SAS won't have to discount any routes in which they compete with DY from now until the strike ends. Also, DY has suffered a serious blow to its public image here in Norway and SAS now has a better brand image than Norwegian.

Any thoughts on how this will impact SKs results this year? Long term, the impact will depend on what type of deal DY makes with its union here.

livious

It should only be a positive to SAS, although I have trouble seeing how DY customers will switch to SAS when they can get similar service at a lower price. My feeling is that we will need to see a longer period of unrest to witness a change. Granted DY's public image in regards to working conditions is poor, but their business model really requires low costs. Any improvement for the staff will only lead to higher prices, which doesn't help the customer long term. Unfortunately we need DY to keep costs down (just look at what the reaction was to them starting up their long haul service).

With that being said, DY will need to address their working conditions for the staff at some point. While I support the staff, I also appreciate the effect DY is having on the airline industry's pricing to/from Scandinavia. I feel that they will eventually gravitate more towards the rest of the airline industry over time.

FlightCancelled

I think the way Kjos & co has handled the situation is very positive for the company - they have been very though and very clear on that they want costs to remain low, and that they will get passengers from a to b whatever happens (leasing airplanes with personell if the big strike happens).

Notice that I do not comment on how fair the current DY working conditions and outsourcing is, I'm just saying that the customers like the impact that has on the price. DY is a low cost carrier, and that's what people choosing DY care about - the price.

I do think SK might benefit some from it, but that's only in the short run. In the long run I think DY still is standing strong.

CPH-Flyer

As with so many other strikes, there is a short term disruption and passenger flows may shift a bit. But once traffic is back to normal, so is customer behaviour. Lufthansa have had their fair share of strike disruptions without any long term effects. And if strikes would have a longer lasting impact on customer choice, people would not be running to SK to begin with.

Flight405

There are a lot of LCC who will soak up passengers from Norwegian, if there is a strike. Here in Copenhagen I can think of several operating from CPH, easyJet, Veuling, Air Berlin, Wideroe, Transvia, Danish Air Transport, Air Baltic, Atlantic Airways - and I bet there's a few more. So SAS are still going to find it problematical.

Amexpat

True from Denmark to Europe, but not so much intra Scandinavia or domestic Norway, which has 3 of the the top 10 busiest air routes in Europe.