Scandinavian Airlines


Scandinavian Airlines, usually known as SAS, is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. SAS is an abbreviation of the company's full name, Scandinavian Airlines System or legally Scandinavian Airlines System Denmark-Norway-Sweden. Part of the SAS Group and headquartered at the SAS Frösundavik Office Building in Solna, Sweden, the airline operates 180 aircraft to 90 destinations. The airline's main hub is at Copenhagen-Kastrup Airport, with connections to 109 destinations around the world. Stockholm Arlanda Airport is the second largest hub and Oslo Airport, Gardermoen being the third major hub of SAS. Minor hubs also exist at Bergen Airport, Flesland, Göteborg Landvetter Airport, Stavanger Airport, Sola, and Trondheim Airport, Værnes. SAS Cargo is an independent, wholly owned subsidiary of Scandinavian Airlines and its main office is at Copenhagen Airport.
In 2017, SAS carried 28.6 million passengers, achieving revenues of 40 billion Swedish kronor. This makes it the eighth-largest airline in Europe and the largest in Denmark and Sweden. The SAS fleet is composed of 180 aircraft consisting of Airbus A319, Airbus A320, Airbus A320neo, Airbus A321, Airbus A330, Airbus A340, Airbus A350, and Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft. SAS also wet leases Airbus A320neo, ATR 72, and Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft.
The airline was founded in 1946 as a consortium to pool the transatlantic operations of Swedish airline Svensk Interkontinental Lufttrafik, Norway's Det Norske Luftfartselskap and Det Danske Luftfartselskab of Denmark. The consortium was extended to cover European and domestic cooperation two years later. In 1951, all the airlines were merged to create SAS. SAS has been described as "an icon of Norwegian–Swedish–Danish cooperation". On 27 June 2018, the Norwegian government announced that it had sold all its shares in SAS.
In 1997, SAS was a founding member of one of the major airline alliances, Star Alliance.

History

Founding

The airline was founded on 1 August 1946, when Svensk Interkontinental Lufttrafik AB, Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S, and Det Norske Luftfartselskap AS formed a partnership to handle the intercontinental air traffic of these three Scandinavian countries. The first president of SAS was Per A. Norlin. On 17 September 1946, operations started under the new entity, the first international service was conducted between Stockholm and New York.
During 1948, the Swedish flag carrier AB Aerotransport joined SAS, quickly coordinated its European operations with the latter. Three years later, the companies formally merged to form the SAS Consortium. When established, ownership of the airline was divided between SAS Danmark, SAS Norge, and SAS Sverige, all of which were owned 50% by private investors and 50% by their governments.

Transpolar route

During 1954, SAS became the first airline to commence scheduled flights on a polar route, flying Douglas DC-6Bs from Copenhagen to Los Angeles with stops in Søndre Strømfjord in Greenland and Winnipeg in Canada. By summer 1956, traffic on the route had justified the frequency to be increased to three flights per week. The service proved relatively popular with Hollywood celebrities and members of the film industry, and the route turned out to be a publicity coup for SAS. Thanks to a tariff structure that allowed free transit to other European destinations via Copenhagen, this trans-polar route gained increasing popularity with American tourists throughout the 1950s.
During 1957, SAS was the first airline to offer a round-the-world service over the North Pole via a second polar route served by Douglas DC-7Cs flying from Copenhagen to Tokyo via Anchorage International Airport in Alaska. The flight via Alaska was a compromise solution since the Soviet Union would not allow SAS, among other air carriers, to fly across Siberia between Europe and Japan, and Chinese airspace was also closed.

Jet era

In 1959, SAS entered the jet age, having procured a number of French-built Sud Aviation Caravelles as the company's first jetliner. During the following year, another jetliner, the Douglas DC-8, was also inducted into the fleet.
In addition to modern airliners, SAS also adopted innovative operating practices and systems to improve the customer experience. In 1965, it was the first airline to introduce an electronic reservation system. During 1971, SAS introduced its first Boeing 747 jumbo jet into service. In 1982, SAS was recognised as the most punctual airline operating in Europe at that time.
During its first decades, the airline built two large hotels in central Copenhagen, SAS Royal Hotel and the even larger SAS Hotel Scandinavia. During 1980, SAS oepened its first hotel outside of Scandinavia, the SAS Kuwait Hotel. By 1989, SAS's hotels division owned a 40 per cent stage in the Intercontinental Hotels Group. Following the deregulation of commercial aviation in Europe and the competitive pressures from new rivals, SAS experienced economic difficulties this heavily contributed to the airline's decision to sell its hotel chain to the Radisson Hotel Group during 1992.
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Consolidation, acquisitions, and partnerships

During 1981, Jan Carlzon was appointed as the CEO of SAS; during his tenure, the company underwent a successful financial turnaround of the company starting in 1981 and who envisioned SAS ownership of multiple airlines worldwide. SAS gradually acquired control of the domestic markets in all three countries; this was achieved by acquiring full or partial control of various competing local airlines, including Braathens and Widerøe in Norway; Linjeflyg and Skyways Express in Sweden; and Cimber Air in Denmark. During 1989, SAS acquired 18.4% of the Texas Air Corporation, the parent company of Continental Airlines, in a bid to form a global alliance. However, this did not come about and the stake in the Texas Air Corporation was subsequently sold on. During the 1990s, SAS also acquired a 20 per cent stake in British Midland, as well as purchasing 95 per cent of Spanair, the second-largest airline in Spain, in addition to Air Greenland.
During the early 1990s, SAS unsuccessfully tried to merge itself with the Dutch airline KLM, along with Austrian Airlines and Swissair, in a proposed combined entity commonly called Alcazar. However, months of negotiations towards this ambitious merger ultimately collapsed due to multiple unsettled issues; this strategic failure heavily contributed to the departure of Carlzon that same year and his replacement by Jan Reinås. The airline marked its 50th year of operation on 1 August 1996 with the harmonization and name of SAS's parent company to SAS Danmark A/S, SAS Norge ASA and SAS Sverige AB. During May 1997, SAS became a founding member of the global Star Alliance network, joining with airlines such as Air Canada, Lufthansa, Thai Airways International, and United Airlines.
During June 2001, the ownership structure of SAS was changed, with a holding company being created in which the holdings of the governments changed to Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, while the remaining 50 per cent of shares were publicly held and traded on the stock market. During 2004, SAS was again restructured, being divided into four separate companies: SAS Scandinavian Airlines Sverige AB, SAS Scandinavian Airlines Danmark A/S, SAS Braathens AS, and SAS Scandinavian International AS. SAS Braathens was re-branded SAS Scandinavian Airlines Norge AS in 2007. However, during October 2009, the four companies were once again united into one company, named SAS Scandinavian System AB.

Restructuring

With the growth of budget airlines and decreasing fares in Scandinavia, the business experienced financial hardship. By 2009, competitive pressures had compelled the airline to launch a cost-cutting initiative. In the first step of which, the business sold its stakes in other companies, such as British Midland International, Spanair, and airBaltic, and began to restructure its operations. During January 2009, an agreement to divest more than 80 percent of the holdings in Spanair was signed with a Catalan group of investors led by Consorci de Turisme de Barcelona and Catalana d'Inciatives. These changes reportedly reduced the airliner's expenses by around 23 per cent between 2008 and 2011.
During November 2012, the company came under heavy pressure from its owners and banks to implement even heavier cost-cutting measures as a condition for continued financial support. Negotiations with the respective trade unions took place for more than a week, exceeded the original deadline; in the end, an agreement was reached between SAS and the trade unions that would increase the work time, cutting employee's salaries by between 12 and 20 per cent, along with reductions to the pension and retirement plans; these measures were aimed at keeping the airline as an operating concern. SAS drew criticism for how it had handled the negotiations, having reportedly denied facilities to the union delegations.
During 2017, SAS announced that it was forming a new airline, Scandinavian Airlines Ireland, operating out of Heathrow Airport and Málaga Airport to fly European routes on its parent's behalf using nine new A320Neo airliners. SAS' sought to replace its own aircraft with cheaper ones crewed and based outside Scandinavia to compete better with other airlines. The Swedish Pilots Union expressed its dissatisfaction with the operational structure of the new airline, suggesting it violated the current labour-agreements. The Swedish Cabin Crew Union also condemned the new venture and stated that SAS established the airline to "not pay decent salaries" to cabin crew.
During 2018, SAS announced that it had placed an order for 50 Airbus A320neo narrow-body jetliners; these shall facilitate the creation of a single-type fleet. That same year, the Norwegian government divested its stake in the airline. As part of an environmental initiative launched by SFO, in December 2018 SAS flights operating out of SFO have been supplied with sustainable aviation fuel from Shell and SkyNRG.

Corporate affairs

Business trends

The key trends for Scandinavian Airlines Group, are shown below :

20082009201020112012
Jan–Oct		2013201420152016201720182019
Turnover 47,53639,69636,52436,73533,14842,18238,00639,65039,45942,65444,71846,736
Profit before tax 5432281,6481,4171,4311,7252,041794
Number of employees 16,28614,43813,72313,47913,59114,12712,32911,28810,71010,32410,14610,445
Number of passengers 30.927.027.129.025.930.429.428.129.430.130.129.8
Passenger load factor 72.372.775.674.976.775.076.976.376.076.875.775.2
Total unit cost 0.941.010.950.860.810.800.750.790.700.690.720.78
Total unit revenue 0.910.920.860.820.820.780.700.800.760.80
Number of aircraft 181172159147145139138152156158157158
Figures for SAS Group. Notes/sources:

Head office

Scandinavian Airlines' head office is located in the SAS Frösundavik Office Building in, Solna Municipality, Sweden, near Stockholm. Between 2011 and 2013, the head office was located at Stockholm Arlanda Airport in Sigtuna Municipality, Sweden. The SAS Cargo Group A/S head office is in Kastrup, Tårnby Municipality, Denmark.
The SAS Frösundavik Office Building, was designed by Niels Torp Architects and built between 1985 and 1987. The move from Solna to Arlanda was completed in 2010. A previous SAS head office was located on the grounds of Bromma Airport in Stockholm. In 2013 SAS announced that it once again would relocate to Frösundavik.

Emissions

As for other airlines, burned fossil fuel and emitted greenhouse gases are significant side effects from the company activities. The following table gives and overview of emissions of greenhouse gases in CO2e emitted by the company as reported in the European Union Emission Trading Scheme. Data for passengers, aircraft and profit from section Business Trends above.
Year201320142015201620172018
Emissions
Passengers 30.429.428.129.430.130.1
Emissions per passenger 778084838382
Aircraft139138152156158157
Emissions per aircraft
Profit
Profit per emissions

In contrast to most other businesses and private individuals in Sweden, airlines are exempt from the Swedish carbon tax. Had SAS paid the Swedish carbon tax level of SEK1180 per tonne for all of its emissions, it would have had significant impact on recent profit levels. Since 2012 airlines are included in the EU ETS. In January 2013 the price for extra emission rights on top of the granted were approximately EUR 6.3 per tonne. In May 2017 the price was EUR 4.9 per tonne.

Destinations

Codeshare agreements

Scandinavian Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
Scandinavian Airlines has interlining agreements with the following airlines:

Fleet

Current fleet

, Scandinavian Airlines operates the following aircraft:

Future fleet plans

Short haul

On 20 June 2011, SAS announced an order for 30 new A320neo aircraft as part of its fleet harmonisation plan. SAS' stated goal is to have an all-Airbus fleet at its bases in Stockholm and Copenhagen by 2019, with a mixed A320neo and A320ceo fleet operation at both bases. The base in Oslo will then operate mostly Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with a few 737-700s also being retained. The older, smaller 737-600s are disposed in 2019. The first of the order of A320neos was delivered in October 2016. In April 2018, SAS announced an order of 50 more A320neos to replace all 737NGs and older A320ceos in service as part of its goal to have an all-Airbus fleet by 2023.

Long haul

On 25 June 2013, SAS and Airbus signed a Memorandum of Understanding stating that SAS intends to buy twelve new-generation aircraft, including six options. The agreement consists of eight A350-900s with six options and four A330-300Es. The first new long haul aircraft to enter service will be the A330-300E, which were originally planned to replace the aging A340-300s in 2015 as leasing agreements on these aircraft expire. Instead, SAS renewed the leasing agreements to be able to expand its long-haul fleet and used the new A330-300Es to add more long-haul destinations to its network. The A350-900 is planned to enter service in November 2019. SAS has dubbed this "a total renewal of long haul fleet", indicating that all former A340 and A330 will be replaced, although the total renewal could also refer to the new interior in the long haul fleet.
The first of 8 Airbus A350-900s for SAS is expected to be delivered to the airline before the end of 2019 and to start to operate long haul routes from 28 January 2020. The A350 will first fly on the Copenhagen and Chicago route, with the airline planning Beijing, New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and San Francisco when more A350 are delivered in 2020.

Removal of SAS Q400 fleet

In September 2007, two separate incidents of similar landing gear failures occurred within four days of each other on SAS Bombardier Q400 aircraft. A third incident occurred in October 2007. On 28 October 2007, in a move that was described as unique by the Swedish press, the board of directors announced that all 27 Bombardier Q400 aircraft were to be removed from service due to the three landing gear failures.
A press release from SAS said that the company had reached a settlement with Bombardier and Goodrich, whereby the airline would receive SEK one billion as compensation, while SAS would purchase 27 new aircraft, with an option of 24 more. These aircraft would consist of 13 of the Bombardier CRJ900 Nextgen and 14 of the updated Q400 Nextgen units, with 7 additional options. SAS received the first CRJ-900 on 3 December 2008.
In November 2007, it was revealed that the Swedish Civil Aviation Administration began an investigation and accused Scandinavian Airlines System of cutting corners during maintenance. The airline reportedly made 2,300 flights in which safety equipment was not up to standard.

Livery

In September 2019, SAS unveiled an all-new livery, which will initially be showcased on a new A350 and an A320neo, before gradually being rolled out to the whole fleet. SAS expects the whole fleet to be repainted by 2024.
The previous livery was introduced in 1998 and is designed by SthlmLab. SAS aircraft look predominantly white, however, the fuselage is in a very light beige with "Scandinavian" above the windows in silver lettering and "Airlines" below the windows in white. The typeface used is Rotis Semi Serif. The vertical stabiliser are painted blue with the classic white SAS logo on it. It is a variant of the traditional SAS logotype, slimmed slightly and stylised by the design company Stockholm Design Lab, as part of the SAS livery change. The engine casing is painted in scarlet with the word Scandinavian in white, the thrust reversers in the colour of the fuselage. All other text is painted in Pantone Warm Gray 9. The design also features stylised versions of the Scandinavian flags. All aircraft are named, traditionally after Vikings.
Apart from the standard livery, SAS also has an Airbus A319 in retro livery and two Boeing 737s and one Airbus A340 in Star Alliance livery.

Cabin

SAS Business

On long-haul flights business class, called SAS Business, is still offered and features wide sleeper seats. On the Airbus A330s and upgraded Airbus A340s seating is 1-2-1 on seats that convert into flat beds, with power sockets and a entertainment screen.

SAS Plus

Plus is SAS' premium economy class. On wide-body aircraft, seating has a 2-3-2 configuration. The seats offered on SAS Plus are wider than those in the SAS Go section.
On European flights, SAS Plus tickets are refundable and include a meal, a double checked-in baggage allowance, and access to lounges and fast track security at the airport. The SAS Plus passengers are seated at the front of the aircraft and passengers can choose their seat at booking for free, but the seats there are otherwise the same as the SAS Go seats. The two-class system was introduced in June 2013, when business class was eliminated from intra-European flights.

SAS Go

SAS Go, or economy offers 3-3 seating on intracontinental flights, 2-4-2 on the A330s and A340s and 3-3-3 on the A350s.
SAS offers free coffee and tea to GO passengers on short-haul services, except very short flights like Bergen-Stavanger or Stockholm-Visby. Meals are served to all passengers on long-haul flights.

SAS Go Light

SAS Go Light is a variant of SAS Go with no checked luggage included. Tickets are sold in the same booking class as SAS Go and are otherwise identical. As of 14 December 2017, SAS Go Light is available on both European and Long-haul flights. It is not available on flights within the Nordic countries. SAS Go Light is aimed at competing with low-cost carriers for those who travel with hand luggage only. Extra luggage allowance for EuroBonus Silver, Gold, and Diamond members does not apply on SAS Go Light tickets and is only valid for EuroBonus Pandion members.

Services

Fingerprint biometric identification

In 2006, SAS Sweden launched a new biometric system for use throughout Sweden. Each passenger's fingerprints are, for security purposes, matched to their respective checked baggage. The new technology will be phased in at all the airports served by SAS, although the use of the system is voluntary for passengers. The system has been introduced in Norway.

EuroBonus

SAS's frequent-flyer program is called EuroBonus. Members earn points on all SAS and Widerøe flights as well as on Star Alliance flights. Around 50 percent of SAS' total revenues are generated by EuroBonus members. By August 2015, the EuroBonus program had in excess of four million members.

Fly Home Club

Fly Home Club was SAS's membership club for Scandinavians living in Spain. It has closed ever since economic conditions have worsened in Spain and as Scandinavians living in Spain have decided to return home or change locations.

Hovercraft

Between 1984 and 1994, SAS operated a hovercraft service between Malmö in Sweden and Copenhagen Airport in Denmark. Travellers could check in for their flights in Malmö and the hovercraft were operated as connecting flights. The service was operated using a handful of British Hovercraft Corporation AP1-88s, which took an average journey time of 45 minutes to traverse the route across the Øresund; within its first year of operation, hovercraft reportedly carried roughly 100,000 passengers. Due to the level of demand experienced, SAS examined the prospects for introducing larger hovercraft, capable of carrying up to 200 passengers, for the service. However, in 1994, the hovercraft were replaced by catamarans. These vessels were in turn discontinued during 2000 due to the opening of the Öresund bridge, which provided a competing rail link between Malmö and Copenhagen airport.

Wi-Fi

During May 2018, SAS launched a new high-speed WiFi system supplied by Viasat. The service is being rolled out on both the short and medium-haul fleets, it is expected to take two years to complete. The new system is much faster than previously available and will enable passengers to stream movies on board. Before this, SAS only offered WiFi on board on its long haul aircraft and a small number of Boeing 737s. WiFi is free for Eurobonus Gold and Diamond members as well as for those travelling in SAS Plus or Business. Otherwise, WiFi can be purchased with EuroBonus points or for a small fee.

Awards