Scandinavian Airlines

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Scandinavian Airlines (SAS)
Scandinavian Airlines logo.svg
IATA
SK
ICAO
SAS
Callsign
SCANDINAVIAN
Founded 1 August 1946
Hubs
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer program EuroBonus
Airport lounge Scandinavian Lounge & Business Lounge
Alliance Star Alliance
Fleet size 135 (+46 orders and 11 options)
Destinations ~ 90
Company slogan Service and simplicity.
Parent company SAS Group
Headquarters Stockholm-Arlanda Airport
Sigtuna, Sweden
Key people
Website www.flysas.com

Scandinavian Airlines or SAS, previously Scandinavian Airlines System, is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden,[1] and the largest airline in Scandinavia.

Part of the SAS Group and headquartered at Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN) in Sigtuna, Sweden, the airline operates 182 aircraft to 90 destinations. The airline's main hub is Kastrup or Copenhagen Airport, which is the main European and intercontinental hub. Somewhat smaller hubs also exist at Oslo Airport, Gardermoen and Stockholm-Arlanda Airport.

In 2011, SAS carried 22.9 million passengers, achieving revenues of SEK 38 billion. This makes it the eight-largest airline in Europe. The SAS fleet consists of Airbus A319, A320, A321, A330 and A340, Boeing 737 Classic and Next Generation, Bombardier CRJ900 and McDonnell Douglas MD-82.

The airline was founded in 1946 as a consortium to pool Det Danske Luftfartselskab's, Svensk Interkontinental Lufttrafik's and Det Norske Luftfartselskap's transatlantic services. European and domestic cooperation started two years later and, in 1951, the airlines merged to create SAS.

SAS is a founding member of the Star Alliance.

History [edit]

Founding [edit]

A privately preserved Douglas DC-3 in flight wearing SAS late 1940s-style markings
SAS had nine Convair 440s flying in 1972 .
SAS Boeing 747, used on busy longhaul routes during the '70s and '80s
The DC-10 was used on long-haul routes during the 1970s and '80s.

The airline was founded on 1 August 1946, when Svensk Interkontinental Lufttrafik AB (an airline owned by the Swedish Wallenberg family), Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S and Det Norske Luftfartselskap AS – the flag carriers of Denmark and Norway – formed a partnership to handle the intercontinental air traffic of these three Scandinavian countries.[2] Operations started on 17 September 1946. In 1948 the Swedish flag carrier AB Aerotransport joined SAS and the companies coordinated European operations and finally merged to form the SAS Consortium in 1951. When established, the airline was divided between SAS Danmark (28.6%), SAS Norge (28.6%) and SAS Sverige (42.8%), all owned 50% by private investors and 50% by their governments.[citation needed]

SAS used DC-8s on intercontinental routes during the 1960s and '70s. Here a −63 approaching Arlanda Airport
SAS operated flights to Greenland until March 2003, the route re-opened the spring 2007 until January 2009. The Boeing 767-383ER at Kangerlussuaq Airport (2001)
The company logo in the 1980s was made up of stripes in the colours of the flags of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden

Trans polar route [edit]

In 1954 SAS was the first airline to schedule a polar route. The DC-6B flew Copenhagen to Los Angeles with stops in Søndre Strømfjord, Greenland and Winnipeg, Canada; in summer 1956 it was thrice weekly. It was popular with Hollywood celebrities and production people and the route was a publicity coup for the airline. Thanks to a price structure which allowed free transit to other European destinations, this trans-polar route gained popularity with US tourists in the late 1950s. Starting in 1957, SAS DC-7Cs flew to Japan via Greenland and Alaska, since the Soviet Union did not allow SAS to fly across Siberia and China was closed to overflights.[citation needed]

In 1957 SAS was the first airline to offer "round the world service over the North Pole" via the North Pole shortcut Copenhagen-Anchorage-Tokyo.

Jet Era [edit]

SAS entered the jet age in 1959 when the Caravelle entered service. In 1971 SAS put its first Boeing 747 jumbo jet into service.[citation needed]

Acquiring of local airlines [edit]

Revenue Passenger-Kilometers, scheduled flights only, in millions
Year Traffic
1950 509
1955 1086
1960 2199
1965 3189
1969 4797
1971 5682
1975 7955
1980 10996
1985 12063
1995 18506
Source:ICAO Digest of Statistics for 1950-55, IATA World Air Transport Statistics 1960-1995

SAS gradually acquired control of the domestic markets in all three countries by acquiring full or partial control of local airlines, including Braathens and Widerøe in Norway, Linjeflyg and Skyways Express in Sweden and Cimber Air in Denmark. In 1989, SAS acquired 18.4% of Texas Air Corporation, parent company of Continental Airlines, in a bid to form a global alliance. This stake was later sold. During the 1990s, SAS also bought a 20% stake in British Midland. SAS bought 95% of Spanair, the second largest airline in Spain, as well as Air Greenland. There are plans to dispose of all of these holdings[3] and an agreement to divest more than 80 percent of the holdings in Spanair was signed with a Catalonian group of investors led by Consorci de Turisme de Barcelona and Catalana d'Inciatives in January 2009.[4]

Star Alliance founding member [edit]

SAS was one of the largest DC-9 operators in the world.

In May 1997 SAS formed the global Star Alliance network with Air Canada, Lufthansa, Thai Airways International and United Airlines. Four years earlier SAS unsuccessfully tried to merge with KLM, Austrian, and the now defunct Swissair, in a project called Alcazar.[5] This failure led to the departure the following year of CEO Jan Carlzon, who was credited for the financial turnaround of the company starting in 1981 and who envisioned SAS ownership of multiple airlines worldwide. The ownership structure of SAS was changed in June 2001, with a holding company being created in which the holdings of the governments changed to: Sweden (21.4%), Norway (14.3%) and Denmark (14.3%) and the remaining 50% publicly held and traded on the stock market.

Contemporary history (2004–present) [edit]

In 2004 Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) was divided into four companies; SAS Scandinavian Airlines Sverige AB, SAS Scandinavian Airlines Danmark AS, SAS Braathens AS and SAS Scandinavian International AS. SAS Braathens was re-branded SAS Scandinavian Airlines Norge AS in 2007.[6] In October 2009 the four companies were once again united into one company, SAS Scandinavian System AB.

With the coming of low-cost airlines and decreasing fares in Scandinavia the business turned into the red. To be profitable again, the airline had to cut costs. In a first step the airline sold its stakes in other companies, such as bmi, Spanair and AirBaltic, and began to restructure its operations.[7][8][9] This was to save costs by about 23 percent between 2008 and 2011. The next big cost-cutting measure followed by the end of 2011. It should generate cost savings of another three to four percent until 2015. In June 2012 the airline announced that they will extend this measure.[10] In 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 and exceeded the original deadline, but in the end SAS and the trade unions reached an agreement that would increase the worktime, cutting salary between 12-20%, pension and retirement plans, and thus keep the airline flying. SAS drew some criticism for how they handled the negotiations, in denying facilities to the union delegations.[11]

Corporate affairs [edit]

Corporate offices [edit]

Scandinavian Airlines' head office is at Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN) in Sigtuna Municipality, Sweden.[12] The SAS Cargo Group A/S head office is in Kastrup, Tårnby Municipality, Denmark.[13]

A previous SAS head office was located on the grounds of Bromma Airport in Stockholm.[14] Until 2011, the SAS head office was located in Frösundavik, Solna Municipality, Sweden, near Stockholm.[15][16] which was designed by Niels Torp Architects and built from 1985 through 1987. The move from Solna to Arlanda was completed in 2010.[17]

Partners [edit]

Besides the agreements SAS has with its Star Alliance partners, SAS also has strategic agreements with Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian and United. The agreement includes code sharing and schedule coordination to facilitate improved connections between SAS and its partner airlines. SAS also co-operates with the other airlines in the SAS Group.

SAS has begun code-sharing with Shanghai Airlines, complementing its code-share arrangement with Air China.

Subsidiaries [edit]

Scandinavian Airlines International – SAS
Responsible for the SAS International Group's intercontinental traffic with long haul routes to North America and Asia out of the main hub in Copenhagen, as well as Stockholm and Oslo. Scandinavian Airlines International also operates all sales units outside Scandinavia. Scandinavian Airlines International has 900 employees.
Scandinavian Airlines Denmark
SAS Norway office
Responsible for the traffic from Copenhagen to other European countries, the route from Copenhagen to Oslo, as well as for Danish domestic routes. Scandinavian Airlines DK is responsible for the sales units within Denmark. The company has 2800 employees.
Scandinavian Airlines Sweden
Responsible for the traffic from Stockholm to other European countries, as well as for Swedish domestic routes. Scandinavian Airlines Sweden is also responsible for the sales units within Sweden. The company has 2500 employees.
Scandinavian Airlines Norway
Scandinavian Airlines Norge is the result of the merger of SAS Norway and Braathens. The airline was first called SAS Braathens, but changed its name to Scandinavian Airlines Norge in 2007. SAS Norge is responsible for the traffic within Norway, as well as for the routes from Norway to other European countries. SAS Norge is also responsible for the sales units within Norway. The company has 3,500 employees.
SAS Business Opportunities

Key business trends [edit]

The key trends for Scandinavian Airlines (which includes SAS Cargo, SAS Ground Handling and SAS Tech), but not including the SAS Group's 'individually branded airlines', for example Widerøe, are shown below (as at year ending 31 December, except 2012 figures, for the 10 months to 31 October):

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
(Jan-
Oct)
Turnover (SEKm) 47,536 39,696 36,524 36,735 33,148
Profits (EBT) (SEKm) −188 −1,522 −33 543 228
Number of employees (average for year) 16,286 14,438 13,723 13,479 13,591
Number of passengers (m) 25.4 21.4 21.5 22.9 21.7
Passenger load factor (%) 71.9 71.6 75.2 74.6 76.0
Number of aircraft (at year end) 181 172 159 147 143
Notes/sources [18] [19] [20] [21]

The company has agreed that its financial year will in future be 1 November – 31 October, instead of the calendar year;[22] the current financial year runs from 1 November 2012 – 31 October 2013.

Destinations [edit]

SAS destinations

Codeshare agreements [edit]

Scandinavian Airlines is one of the founding members of Star Alliance

Scandinavian Airlines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines; (*) indicates Star Alliance:

Fleet [edit]

Current fleet [edit]

A Scandinavian Airlines A340-313X at Dubai International Airport in 2007.
Airbus A330-300 rolling during takeoff

The Scandinavian Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft (as of May 2013)

Scandinavian Airlines Fleet
Aircraft Total Orders Options Passengers Notes
C Y M
Total
Airbus A319-100 4 0 0 141 141 One painted in retro livery[26]
Airbus A320-200 7 6 0 0 168 168 Leased until delivery of Airbus A320neo
Airbus A320neo 0 30 11 0 0 TBA TBA Deliveries from 2016
Airbus A321-200 8 0 0 198 198
Airbus A330-300 4 34 35 195 264 One painted in Star Alliance livery [27]
Airbus A340-300 6
1
-


1
- 46
34
42
28
35
-
171
195
218
245
264
260
One painted in Star Alliance livery [28] Order is ex LAN Chile.
Boeing 737-400 1 0 0 150 150 To be phased out and replaced by Boeing 737NGs.
Boeing 737-500 5 0 0 120 120 To be phased out and replaced by Boeing 737NGs.
Boeing 737-600 28 0 0 120 120
Boeing 737-700 25 6 0 0 141 141
Boeing 737-800 26 3 0 0 186 186 One aircraft painted in Star Alliance livery [29]
Bombardier CRJ900 NextGen 12 0 0 88 88
McDonnell Douglas MD-82 8 0 0 150 150 To be phased out
One painted in Star Alliance livery (pictured on the right)
Total 135 46 11

Future fleet plans [edit]

SAS has earlier stated that they plan to buy up to 55 new narrow-body aircraft to replace its McDonnell Douglas MD-80s and Boeing 737 Classics. But as a revised plan they will replace 9 McDonnell Douglas MD-80s and 11 Boeing 737 Classics with 17 leased Boeing 737 Next Generations. 17 McDonnell Douglas MD-80s will later be replaced by Airbus A320s.[30]

On June 20, 2011, SAS announced an order for 30 new A320 next generation aircraft as part of its fleet harmonisation plan. SAS has earlier announced that the fleet will be harmonized. Its short range aircraft will consist of two types from 2015: Airbus A320 family at the base in Copenhagen and Boeing 737NG at the bases in Stockholm and Oslo. As of May 2013, the McDonnell Douglas MD-80s have been reduced to 6 of which all, are based in Copenhagen. The airline intends to further reduce the number of aircraft down to 5 by July and the last aircraft will be withdrawn from service in late October 2013. There are currently 6 leased A320s in the SAS fleet at the beginning of May 2013

As part of the transition, all the MD80s in Copenhagen will be replaced by leased Airbus A320 and be completed by the end of 2014. The leased A320's, in turn will be replaced by 30 new A320neo's beginning in 2016. Airbus A320 is very attractive in the market and the SAS Group expects to finance the aircraft through a combination of leases and loans.

All the MD80s at the base in Stockholm will be replaced by leased Boeing 737NGs, which will be completed during 2013. Finally all the Boeing 737 Classics at the base in Oslo will be replaced by Boeing 737NGs and this will be completed by the end of 2014.

Removal of SAS Dash Q400 fleet [edit]

In September 2007, two separate incidents of similar landing gear failures occurred within four days of each other on SAS Dash 8-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 Dash 8 Q400 aircraft were to be removed from service due to three landing gear failures.[31]

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 will consist of 13 of the CRJ900 Nextgen (10 to SAS and 3 to Estonian Air) and 14 of the updated Q400 Nextgen units (8 to airBaltic and 6 to Widerøe), with 7 additional options.[32][33]

SAS received the first CRJ-900 on December 3, 2008, with others soon to follow. The CRJ900 fleet now consists of 12 aircraft.

SAS sold its original Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 fleet to Philippine Airlines for operation with subsidiary PAL Express, and also to Malev Hungarian Airlines.

McDonnell Douglas MD-82 taking off in 2007.
Boeing 737-700 in 2008.
Boeing 737-800 in 2007.
A Bombardier CRJ900 NextGen at Copenhagen (2011)

In November 2007, it was revealed that Swedish Civil Aviation Authority began an investigation and accused Scandinavian Airlines System of cutting corners for maintenance. The airline reportedly made 2,300 flights in which safety equipment was not up to standard.[34]

Livery [edit]

SAS planes look predominantly white, however, they are a very light beige with "Scandinavian" above the windows and "Airlines" below the windows in white lettering except for the belly which is actually white. The vertical stabilizers are blue with the traditional "SAS" logo on it. Also, the engine casing is painted in scarlet with the word Scandinavian in white, the thrust reversers are white.

Services [edit]

Lounges [edit]

The following locations are SAS Scandinavian, Stockholm, and Business locations:

Fingerprint biometric identification [edit]

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 use of the system is voluntary for passengers. The system has been introduced in Norway.[citation needed]

EuroBonus [edit]

SAS's frequent-flyer program is called EuroBonus. Members also earn points on other Star Alliance flights.

Fly Home Club [edit]

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.

Incidents and accidents [edit]

  • On 4 July 1948, a DC-6B, SE-BDA collided with an RAF Avro York at Northwood, north of London, England. All 32 on board were killed. See Northwood mid-air collision.
  • On 19 January 1960, a Caravelle III, OY-KRB crashed near Ankara, Turkey. All 42 on board were killed. See Scandinavian Airlines Flight 871
  • On 13 January 1969, SAS flight 933 DC-8-62, LN-MOO, hit the water while approaching Los Angeles. 15 of the 45 on board were killed.
  • On 19 April 1970 a DC-8-62, SE-DBE, experienced an uncontained engine fire during takeoff from Rome. Aircraft burned out, but all on board managed to evacuate safely.
  • On 30 January 1973, a DC-9-21, LN-RLM SAS flight 370, Oslo-Alta via Tromsø, was cleared for takeoff from runway 24. The takeoff run was normal and the DC-9 rotated at VR (125 knots). At that moment the stall warning system activated. Although the speed had increased to 140 knots (259 km/h), the pilot aborted the takeoff. The remaining 1100 m was not enough to bring the aircraft to a halt, the reversers did not deploy completely and the aircraft overran the runway and onto the ice covered Oslofjord. All passengers and crew evacuated before the plane broke through the ice and sank 20 minutes later. The decision to abort the take-off in spite of the high speed was because the flight crew had received outdated (by several hours) runway data, giving much better braking coefficients than the actual ones.
  • On 28 February 1984, SAS Flight 901, DC-10, LN-RKB departed Oslo (GEN) for a flight to New York City JFK. The aircraft touched down 1440 m past the runway 4R threshold. The crew steered the plane to the right side off the runway to avoid approach lights. The DC-10 ended up in shallow water. All on board the plane were uninjured.
  • On 23 February 1987, SAS flight 737, an McDonnell Douglas DC-9-41, SE-DAT landed hard on runway 9 and a go-around was initiated. After the second landing, the tail of the aircraft was found to have struck the runway, causing severe damage.
  • On 27 December 1991, SAS flight 751, an MD-81, OY-KHO "Dana Viking" crash landed at Gottröra (Sweden). During the initial climb, both engines ingested ice particles having broken loose from the wings, which had not been properly de-iced before departure. The ice damaged the compressor blades causing compressor stall. The stall caused repeated engine surges that destroyed both engines, leaving the aircraft with no propulsion. The aircraft landed in a field and broke in three parts. No fire broke out and all aboard the plane survived. Captain Stefan G. Rasmussen was later decorated by the Danish Queen for his performance. This incident was mentioned on The History Channel's True Action Adventures episode "Against All Odds" which first aired in the United States on 2 April 1997.
  • The Linate Airport disaster, involving the highest number of SAS passenger fatalities, occurred on 8 October 2001 in Milan, Italy, when an MD-87, SAS flight SK686, SE-DMA collided with a small Cessna jet during take-off. All 104 passengers and 6 crew aboard SK686 were killed, along with four people on the Cessna and another four people on the ground. Italian authorities established that the cause of the accident was a misunderstanding between air traffic controllers and the Cessna jet, and that the SAS crew had no role in causing the accident. Another factor was the inoperative ground movement radar at the time of the accident.
  • In the autumn of 2007, three separate incidents occurred, involving landing gear problems with the de Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 (Q400) airplane. These incidents (SAS flight SK1209, SAS flight SK2748 and SAS flight SK2867), while not resulting in hull loss or fatalities, were widely publicized in the media and eventually led to SAS permanently retiring its Dash 8 Q400 fleet.[35]
  • On 23 August 2010, a female flight attendant sustained serious spinal injuries when the aircraft, a Boeing 737-600 encountered severe turbulence during approach to London Heathrow Airport. No injuries among the passengers were reported.[36]
  • On 01 May 2013, Scandinavian Airlines flight 908, an A330 that was readied for takeoff at Newark caused a tail loss incident of United Express flight 4226, an ExpressJet Embraer E145 aircraft.[37][38]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Profile for SAS". Centre for Aviation. Archived from the original on 22 August 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2012. 
  2. ^ "Historie". SAS. 
  3. ^ SAS plans to sell Spanair and its stake in the British carrier bmi – International Herald Tribune
  4. ^ "SAS – press release (in Swedish)". Cision Wire. Retrieved 2009-01-30. 
  5. ^ Talks Collapse On European Airline Merger – International Herald Tribune
  6. ^ "Press Release: SAS Braathens to be renamed SAS Norge". Waymaker (via SAS Group Press Release Archive). Retrieved 2010-03-23. 
  7. ^ Nicholson, Chris V. (1 October 2009). "SAS Sells Remaining Stake in BMI to Lufthansa". New York Times. Retrieved 18 November 2012. 
  8. ^ Roberts, Martin; et. al. (30 January 2009). "SAS sells Spanair for 1 euro, takes big charge". Reuters. Retrieved 18 November 2012. 
  9. ^ "Company history". airBaltic.com. airBaltic. Retrieved 18 November 2012. 
  10. ^ volaspheric: SAS cuts costs
  11. ^ "Nightmare for trade unions in Copenhagen". Dagens Industri. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 17 december 2012. 
  12. ^ "SAS Head Office in Sweden." Scandinavian Airlines. Retrieved on 27 January 2012. "SAS Head Office Stockholm-Arlanda Kabinvägen 5 SE-195 87 Stockholm"
  13. ^ "Headquarters." SAS Cargo. Retrieved on 27 January 2012. "Visiting address Kystvejen 40 DK-2770 Kastrup Denmark"
  14. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 29 March 1986. "Scandinavian Airlines System" 122.
  15. ^ "SAS head office in Sweden." Scandinavian Airlines. Retrieved on 8 June 2009.
  16. ^ "Cykelkarta 2007." Solna Municipality. Retrieved on 12 February 2010.
  17. ^ "Interim Report January-June 2011." Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  18. ^ "Annual Report & Sustainability Report 2008". SAS Group. Retrieved 13 December 2011. 
  19. ^ "Annual Report & Sustainability Report 2010". SAS Group. Retrieved 13 December 2011. 
  20. ^ "Annual Report & Sustainability Report 2011". SAS Group. Retrieved 24 August 2012. 
  21. ^ "SAS Group: Year-end report January – October 2012". SAS Group. Retrieved 30 December 2012. 
  22. ^ "Resolutions approved by the 2012 Annual General Shareholders' Meeting of SAS AB". SAS Group. Retrieved 24 August 2012. 
  23. ^ SK-NH code share
  24. ^ SAS and Icelandair Begin Codeshare
  25. ^ [1]
  26. ^ OY-KBO painted in retro livery
  27. ^ SE-REF painted in Star Alliance livery
  28. ^ OY-KBM painted in Star Alliance livery
  29. ^ LN-RRL painted in Star Alliance livery
  30. ^ Kinnander, Ola (26 November 2010). "Bombardier's C-Series Is Contender for 55-Plane SAS Order, Airline Says". Bloomberg. 
  31. ^ SAS removes Dash 8 Q400 from service permanently
  32. ^ "News." Airliner World : 7.
  33. ^ SAS får en milliard i krasj-erstatning ("SAS gets a billion in crash compensation") e24.no 10 March 2008 (Norwegian)
  34. ^ "Plane crash disaster narrowly avoided." The Copenhagen Post, September 10, 2007. Retrieved: December 6, 2009.
  35. ^ "SAS removes Dash 8 Q400 from service permanently". SAS Group. Retrieved 2007-10-28. 
  36. ^ "Turbulence led to spinal injury for plane stewardess". BBC News. 10 March 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2011. 
  37. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2013/05/02/sas-widebody-jet-clips-united-express-turboprop-at-newark/2128665/
  38. ^ http://www.aviationpros.com/news/10933680/sas-investigates-clipping-accident-at-ewr

External links [edit]

Company websites
Other websites