Sharp competition in the aviation market is forcing Scandinavian airline SAS to cut costs by a total of 2.1 billion by 2017. The company has been working on a recovery plan since 2012, and they have been meeting their goals of "changing competitive conditions for European aviation," chief executive Rickard Gustafson said. These measures are an effort to meet increasing competition from budget airlines, including rivals Ryanair and Oslo-based Norwegian Airlines. Earlier this year there were layoffs; now SAS will focus on changes in the administration, simplified logistics and reduced costs. The airline has increased its passenger numbers by 8.4 percent and raised its load factor (measuring how full planes are) by 2.3 percent, indications for a potential to report a pre-tax profit for the 2014-2015 fiscal year.