Scandinavian carrier SAS has taken a step back from its winter schedule and cut 1,500 flights and a number of routes in steps aiming to stay profitable. The move comes as a number of other airlines, including U.S. carriers act to adjust capacity on less-profitable routes.
In SAS’s case, it will still be offering more winter service than it did last year, but not as much as it had intended. As projections shifted based on early ticket sales and other indicators the airline realized it had overestimated demand.
A large number of the dropped routes were between Malaga, a major winter destination and feeder cities. They were to have been flown by SAS’s Irish subsidiary and a subcontractor, City Jet. Over summer, 700 flights were canceled by those companies due to staff shortages.
Other canceled winter routes include Stockholm to Lisbon and Copenhagen to Riga, Latvia.
