I recently performed a translation for SAS where I had to ask them about this term...I am guessing it relates to a collective agreement for pilots or cabin crew.

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Note added at 8 hrs (2008-11-05 20:11:49 GMT)
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As I understand it, a 'sling' in the airline industry is a tour of duty where the pilot/cabin crew e.g. fly somewhere, stay overnight and fly back again. The word sling has been taken from English and used in Swedish. I recently came across it for the first time in a collective agreement for SAS.

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Note added at 22 hrs (2008-11-06 10:38:10 GMT)
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This is the reply I got from SAS when I asked them about this same term 6 months ago:

A “sling” is the same as a “pairing”, consisting of a number of different duties, ground duties, flight duties or a combination of both. A Sling can also be referred to as a duty in a dutyprogram.

A “sling” is predetermined by the airline and all “slings” on all days for a season are negotiated in advance between the airline and the union. An agreement is made/written and all slings are scheduled on staff rosters.



A “Sling committee” is a number of flying staff from the Union organization who negotiates with a number of staff from the airline.

“Slingöverenskommelse” is the “agreement” which is the result of the negotiations between the Union organization and the airline.