Mats Nygård and Martine Lundberg had no plans to buy a car. Now the young couple is sitting in a newly purchased Toyota Corolla on their way home from their holiday in Finnmark.
Less than 10 minutes ago
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Ten days on an outdoor life holiday in Lakselv with his girlfriend, followed by a ten-day boy’s trip to the same place. These were this year’s holiday plans for Mats Nygård.
However, the SAS strike was a dash in the bill for the student. First, the return ticket for girlfriend Martine Lundberg was canceled, followed by the group of friends’ tickets to Northern Norway.
With his friends waiting at home in Østfold and a girlfriend who cannot get home, Nygård began to look for an alternative solution.
On Friday morning, the couple took a plane from Lakselv to Tromsø, where they planned to fly on to Oslo.
– What we had not seen was that this aircraft was also SAS, says Nygård.
– We had to wait until Wednesday if we were to get tickets at regular prices. Until then, the prices were up to 10,000 kroner.
–On Finn.no, Nygård found a Toyota Corolla 2001 model for NOK 15,000. The car did not appear to have any major damage or defects when he visited the owner the same day – so he struck.
– It was a bit of a game of chance. It is a great financial risk for someone who is a student and someone without a permanent job, says Nygård to VG.
Now the couple is sitting in the car on the way home to Fetsund and Indre Østfold – a trip that will take about 22 hours, if you do not take into account stops and accommodation.
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Not the plan
On Friday, national mediator Mats Wilhelm Ruland announced that he “Will probably call in the parties to the SAS strike in the not too distant future”but on Saturday afternoon there is still nothing new, according to the leader of SAS Norway’s Pilots’ Association (SNF), Jan Levi Skogvang.
– It’s completely still. It’s not interesting to meet to talk about the same things.
Nygård’s green Toyota will be on the market again as soon as they get home, according to Nygård. It was never his plan to buy a car.
The alternative was either a bus to Bodø and on by train to Oslo, a journey that would take over 30 hours, or a trip with Hurtigruten to Trondheim and a train from there, which would take even longer.
– I try to get home as soon as possible so I can go on a holiday with my friends anyway, Nygård says.
– They are sitting and waiting for me at home and have taken a vacation from work.
To cover some of the extra expenses, the couple has set up Spleisen “Mats and Martine on the wrong track”, which has already received more than 10,000 kroner on Saturday afternoon.
Late cancellation
Nygård’s return tickets from Finnmark to Oslo, after what should have been a ten-day trip, have not yet been canceled.
– I was actually going to go home in ten days, so my ticket goes in the sink. I hope I get my money back even though it has not been canceled yet, since I have been prevented from completing the trip.
Lundberg’s flight tickets were canceled approximately 30 hours before the flight was to depart on Friday. So far they have not heard anything about the refund, or about what they will get back.
– It has been a pretty dramatic round for us to arrange a new trip, says Nygård.
– Now we just hope that the car ride home goes well.
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