Aircraft

Daily cost of SAS Q400 grounding put at SKr10-15m

SAS Group can expect a financial impact of SKr10-15 million ($1.5-2.2 million) per day as the result of its decision to ground its Bombardier Q400 fleet for inspections.

The forecast has been made by credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s after SAS Group opted to suspend Q400 services by Scandinavian Airlines and Wideroe while checks are made on the landing-gear.

But Standard & Poor’s says it believes the company has “sufficient flexibility” to absorb the financial impact of short-term Q400 suspension and the potential costs of leasing interim capacity.

SAS Group’s decision to remove temporarily 27 aircraft from service – of which 23 are from Scandinavian Airlines and four from Wideroe – follows two accidents in three days involving SAS Q400 landing-gear collapses.