By Scott Kanowsky
Investing.com -- Shares in SAS AB (ST:SAS) climbed in late morning trading on Tuesday after reports emerged that the Scandinavian airline and its pilot unions will restart talks to end a more-than-week-old strike.
A mediator from the Swedish government, along with SAS and the pilot unions, confirmed that negotiations will resume in Stockholm on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
SAS has scrapped more than 1,200 flights since the start of the labor action and has warned that it puts the future health of the company at risk. The carrier also announced last week that it has filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S., saying the move was spurred on by the pilot strike.
In a statement on Monday, SAS said that it had taken steps to resume wage talks with the unions, calling for "an end to the situation."
"Ultimately, it is SAS’ ability to compete that is at stake in these negotiations," SAS said.
Talks between SAS and the unions representing nearly 1,000 pilots broke down earlier this month after several months of negotiation. Union leaders were particularly angered by a SAS decision to hire pilots from its new subsidiary firms, instead of re-hiring former workers laid off during the pandemic, Reuters reported.
More than 242 SAS flights - or 76% of those scheduled - have been cancelled so far on Tuesday, according to data from the travel website FlightAware.
As of 06:44 EST (1044 GMT), Stockholm-listed shares rose by 8.68% - but remain down by more than 75% over the one-year period.