, now '''SAS AB''', is an airline based in
Stockholm ,
Sweden . It is a multi-national airline for Norway, Denmark and Sweden and is currently the leading carrier in the
Nordic Countries . It is also a founding member of the
Star Alliance .
It operates out of three primary hubs,
Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (ARN),
Copenhagen Airport , Kastrup (CPH) and
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen (OSL).
The airline was founded on
1 August 1946 when the flag carriers of
Denmark ,
Sweden and
Norway formed a partnership to handle intercontinental traffic to
Scandinavia . Operations started on
17 September 1946 . The companies then started coordination of European operations in
1948 and finally merged to form the current SAS Consortium in
1951 . When established the airline was divided between SAS Danmark (28.6%), SAS Norge (28.6%) and SAS Sweden (42.8%), all owned 50% by private investors and 50% by their respective governments. SAS gradually acquired control of the domestic markets in all three countries by acquiring full or partial control of several local airlines. In May
1997 SAS formed the global
Star Alliance network with
Air Canada ,
Lufthansa ,
Thai Airways International and
United Airlines . 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. It employs 9147 staff.
Note that SAS airline is divided into 4 operating airlines: SAS Danmark, SAS Sverige, SAS Braathens in Norway, and finally SAS International.
SAS Braathens is the Norwegian part of SAS airline and is the result of the merge of Braathens and SAS Norge. The livery of SAS Braathens diverts a bit from the others by showing "Braathens" and the Norwegian flag on the fuselage.
SAS fully owns SAS Cargo and
Blue1 in
Finland . It also has stakes in
Widerøe (99.6%) in Norway,
Spanair (94.9%) in
Spain ,
Estonian Air (49%),
Air Baltic (47.2%) in
Latvia ,
Air Greenland (37.5%), Aerolineas de Baleares (25%), Skyways Holdings (25%) and
Bmi (20%).
SAS helped set up
Thai Airways International in 1960, taking a 30% share in the joint venture, but sold its last remaining stake in 1977.
On
30 March 2003 , the
Snowflake Low-cost Airline subsidiary started operations to provide services to destinations in southern Europe. It eventually evolved into a "fares brand", ceased separate operations in
2004 and all operations are now on SAS aircraft.
- Scandinavian Airlines serves 64 destinations from Copenhagen
- --- 3 Domestic destination
- --- 52 European destinations
- --- 9 Intercontinental destination
- Scandinavian Airlines serves 45 destinations from Stockholm
- --- 13 Domestic destinations
- --- 30 European destinations
- --- 2 Intercontinental destinations
- SAS Braathens serves 41 destinations from Oslo
- --- 16 Domestic destinations
- --- 25 Europeam destinations
- SAS Braathens serves 5 destinations from Stavanger
- --- 1 domestic destination
- --- 4 European destinations
- Scandinavian Airlines serves 3 destinations from Gothenburg (13 more on code-share)
- --- 1 Domestic destination
- --- 2 European destinations
On
December 27 ,
1991 ,
SAS Flight 751 , a
McDonnell Douglas MD-81 , crashed at
Gottröra , Sweden. On initial climb both engines ingested
Ice and subsequently stalled, leaving the aircraft with no
Propulsion . The aircraft made a forced landing in a field and broke in three parts. No fire broke out and all aboard the plane survived. The
Flight Crew was praised for the fortunate outcome of the accident.
The
Worst SAS Accident occurred in
2001 in
Milan ,
Italy , when an
MD-87 collided with a small
Cessna jet during take-off and left 114 people dead. It has been 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.
The exhibits at the SAS Museum at Oslo Airport Gardermoen represent an important part of Scandinavian civil aviation history. The museum collections cover Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) as well as its parent companies: AB Aerotransport (ABA), Det Danske Luftfartselskab (DDL) and Det Norske Luftfartselskap (DNL). A museum was originally established in 1989 in the hangar area at Oslo Airport Fornebu at the same time as the formation of the DNL/SAS Historielag (the DNL/SAS Historic Society). It was built up through the efforts of a group of enthusiasts among retired and active SAS employees. The establishment of the new museum in 2003/2004 is a result of SAS feeling a responsibility to document the history of Scandinavian civil aviation. For this purpose, the airline has entered a partnership with its three national historic societies and the latter undertake the day-to-day work on a volunteer basis. SAS absorbs the rental cost of the museum building and has also provided depots for museum exhibits in Denmark and Sweden. The museum at Gardermoen is therefore more than just a continuation of the facility at Fornebu – it is a completely new and considerably expanded Scandinavian museum. It is run by a board that includes representatives of the SAS consortium and the historic societies.
The Scandinavian Airlines operating fleet consists of the following aircraft as of May
2006 : (157 aircraft)
Scandinavian Airlines have also leased out 12 MD-81/82/87 and 8 MD90.
Note: Fleet from subsidiary airlines is not included.
The average age of SAS fleet (excluding SAS Braathens) is 9.4 years old in April 2006.
