Scandinavian airline SAS said the head of its Norwegian arm, Petter Jansen, had resigned on Sunday due to disagreements over strategy. Deputy Chief Executive Johnny Skoglund will become acting chief executive of SAS Braathens from June 12, the Norwegian subsidiary said.
"He and the company's board have different opinions on central issues of how future strategy shall be formulated for the Norwegian company within Scandinavian Airlines Businesses," SAS Braathens said on its Web site, without elaborating on the disagreement.
The SAS Group formed SAS Braathens in 2004 after acquiring Norway's Braathens in 2001. Jansen had led SAS Braathens since 2004, and the company said the unit had delivered good results under his leadership during a demanding merger process.
"Now that the merger between SAS and Braathens is complete and a new strategy shall be set for the coming years, it is a natural point in time to separate, since we do not agree," Jansen, 51, said in the statement.
Norwegian daily VG said in its online edition that SAS Group Chief Executive Jorgen Lindegaard, who last month announced he would leave the company later this year, personally made the decision to fire Jansen.
Along with other airlines, SAS has struggled and clawed back to profit last year for the first time in four years.
SAS Braathens, which has lower costs than SAS overall, has performed better than the parent company but has been beset by strikes and workers' slowdown actions due partly to failure to integrate with SAS Group.
"Inside SAS Braathens, the decision has aroused astonishment, not least because Jansen has led the only part of the SAS Group that is profitable," VG said.
VG said that SAS Braathens' unions were likely to protest to the group management against Jansen's firing, which could lead to further actions and flight delays.
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