SAS is to cut jobs, pay and pensions and sell some assets as part of a deal to secure loans from banks and Nordic governments.
The airline is cutting 800 jobs and will also sell its ground handling unit and Wideroe, a regional airline.
The measures will cut the number of employees at SAS from 15,000 to 9,000.
The BBC reports credit to the airline depends on it securing union approval for the job cuts and wage cuts.
The loans from seven banks and the governments of Denmark, Sweden and Norway will be worth 3.5 billion Swedish kronor ($US519 million).
Empoyees will have to agree to take pay cuts of up to 17%, with cabin staff pay being cut by an average of 12%.
The airline will also have to take steps to reduce a deficit on its pension scheme.
SAS has not made a full-year profit since 2007 and has predicted a pre-tax loss for the current year.
