Blue1 to phase out Avro RJ-85 aircraft

In order to strengthen the SAS Group’s long term position in Finland and improve the profitability in Blue1, the SAS Group has decided to phase out the remaining 5 Avro RJ-85 aircraft and streamline to Boeing 717. The phase out of the Avro fleet is expected to start in August 2011 and will result in maximum 85 redundancies within Blue1. The refocus on the Finnish market will also result in closure of a number of European destinations. Some capacity adjustments will also be made on Finnish domestic routes. At the same time Tampere-Copenhagen route will be opened