SAS signs wet lease and sale agreement for Blue1 with Cityjet

SAS has finalized agreements with Cityjet, involving the wet lease of eight Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft and the sale of SAS's subsidiary, Blue1. This move aims to enhance SAS's regional network and operational flexibility.

The agreement will see Cityjet operate eight new 90-seat Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft in SAS livery. These aircraft are scheduled to enter service starting March 2016, supporting SAS's strategy of offering a broad network with frequent flights to, from, and within Scandinavia.

The wet lease agreement is for a term of three years, with an option for an additional six aircraft. SAS stated that this capacity is intended to match production to traffic flows, complementing its existing fleet of regional jets. "The eight brand new CRJ900s from Cityjet will provide us with efficient and flexible production of regional flights that will complement SAS’s production on the larger traffic flows," said SAS President and CEO Rickard Gustafson.

The sale of Blue1 is expected to have a marginal impact on SAS's pre-tax income, cash, and net debt. However, SAS anticipates a negative impact of approximately SEK 90 million on its income after tax for Q4 2014/2015, primarily due to write-downs. The company expects the combined transactions to increase cost efficiency and flexibility.