SAS has won court backing for financial restructuring designed to bring the airline out of US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The carrier now hopes to emerge from the legal process by the end of the year.
The Scandinavian carrier initiated the court-supervised process in the US by voluntarily filing for chapter 11 last July, warning at the time that a strike by 1,000 pilots put the future of the carrier at risk.
The process provided legal tools to strengthen its financial position and accelerate work on a business transformation plan known as SAS Forward, while allowing management to continue running the airline.
Chapter 11 is conducted under the supervision of the US federal court system, which many large international airlines have used over the years to reduce their costs and complete financial restructurings.
SAS secured $700 million of financing last August to fund operations throughout the restructuring process.
A New York bankruptcy court on Monday approved a plan by the airline to secure the best available terms and conditions for new equity capital.
The deadline for potential investors to present final bids takes place in about 13 weeks.
SAS president and chief executive Anko van der Werff said “The equity raise process is the key next step in SAS Forward, our transformation plan that aims to improve our financial strength, secure long-term competitiveness and fortify our position as Scandinavia’s leading airline.
“We will conduct a competitive and broad solicitation process to secure equity capital that will help drive our airline forward and facilitate our emergence from the Chapter 11 process.”