July 13 (Reuters) – Loss-making airline SAS (SAS.ST) hopes that cost cuts combined with rising revenues will lead to it meeting its target of becoming profitable in 2011, the company’s CEO was quoted on Tuesday as saying.
SAS, half owned by the governments of Sweden, Norway and Denmark, has pushed through several cost cutting plans.
This year it also raised 5 billion crowns ($665 million) via a rights issue.
Chief executive Mats Jansson was quoted by newspaper Dagens Nyheter as saying that a recovery in the market was coming through and expected underlying growth in the airline market of 4 to 5 percent over the next four years.
“The cost cut programme is having a clear effect and, together with higher revenues, SAS can reach its goal of making a profit in 2011,” he added.
He said he was convinced the airline would survive the global crisis and added that intercontinental traffic was rising. He also saw the first signs of a return of business and leisure travellers to long distance destinations. (Reporting by Patrick Lannin; Editing by Mike Nesbit) ($1=7.519 Swedish Crowns)