Scandinavian airline SAS, with CEO Mats Jansson, will post a heavy second-quarter loss next week as the pressure on the yield has increased, an aviation analyst predicts.

SAS Group, half-owned by Sweden, Norway and Denmark, said on Friday that traffic declined almost 14 percent in July - and 16.5 since the turn of the year - while the company’s earnings dived more than expected.

The yield for June - the most recent month for which data is available - was down by 7.6 percent, putting further pressure on the revenues for the second-quarter.

Jacob Pedersen, senior aviation analyst at Danish Sydbank, predicts SAS’ second quarter result to be “very depressing” as the global downturn has severely dampened demand and put weight on earnings.

“It’s going to be inked in red”, he said to The Swedish Wire. “The pressure on the yield has increased and the company hasn’t seen the effects from its efficiencies yet”.

Jacob Pedersen expects the company to post a second-quarter net loss of 1.1 billion kronor (€107 million, $153 million), compared to a loss of 411 million kronor last year.

To save up, the company is currently carrying out its approach Core SAS, which includes cost initiatives of approximately 4 billion kronor.

However, on the upside Jacob Pedersen believes the company may have bottomed out and the airline gradually is flying towards brighter skies.

“The second quarter makes a low on income”, Jacob Pedersen said. “They are getting a grip on the calendar effects and are adjusting supply to the markets demand”.

On Friday Finnish airline Finnair's chief executive Jukka Hienonen steped down after he reported a switch into loss. For the April to June period, the company reported a net loss of 26.1 million euros compared to net profit of 13.4 million euros in the same period a year earlier.

“The higher jet fuel prices in combination with the weak demand adds further challenges to the industry and requires actions in order to mitigate the negative earnings' impact”, SAS said in the statement on Friday.

SAS Group will publish its first half result on 12 August.