The Scandinavian airline is also expected to announce a new destination in the coming weeks.
An SAS Airbus A320neo (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
SAS announced on Sunday that it had officially joined the SkyTeam alliance. Five months after the initial announcement, the carrier completed the deal in what CEO Anko Van der Werff called “a new era for SAS.”
SAS, the flag carrier for Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, claimed that the Star Alliance which it was formerly a member of didn’t bring enough to the table. After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and restructuring the company, Mr. van der Werff said that SAS was looking for opportunities to start a joint venture or deeper integration, but the Star Alliance couldn’t provide this.
The move was largely predicted after Air France-KLM, a key player in SkyTeam, acquired a 19.9% stake in the company following financial troubles.
The new move allows SAS to have an entirely different route network by connecting passengers to SkyTeam partners. In fact, the Scandinavian carrier has already started reshaping its routes, deploying aircraft to destinations such as Atlanta to allow for connection onto Delta.
SAS’ CEO announced in an Instagram post that the carrier would announce a new long-haul destination later this month. There are many possibilities as to what this might be, but some speculate that the destination could be a Delta hub.
The airline might not be the only carrier looking to join SkyTeam, with the Star Alliance potentially losing a second member. South Korea-based Asiana Airlines could make the move after talks of an acquisition by SkyTeam member Korean Air.
The planned merger is making slow process, despite facing backlash from regulatory bodies over worries of a potential monopoly in the Korean and East Asian markets.
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