Airline holding company based in Sweden
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SAS AB
(Scandinavian Airlines System
Aktiebolag
),
[2]
trading as
SAS Group
, is an airline
holding company
headquartered in the
SAS Frosundavik Office Building
in
Solna Municipality
, Sweden. It is the owner of the airlines
Scandinavian Airlines
and
SAS Connect
. SAS once owned 19.9% of the now defunct Spanish airline
Spanair
as well as shares in
Estonian Air
and
Skyways Express
. SAS Group is partially owned by the governments of Sweden and Denmark with a 14.82% and 14.24% holding, respectively. The remaining 70.92% is held by private shareholders, of which
Foundation Asset Management
owns 6.50%.
[3]
The company is listed on the
Oslo Stock Exchange
, the
Stockholm Stock Exchange
, and the
Copenhagen Stock Exchange
.
The conglomerate was founded in 1951 as a merger between the three Scandinavian
flag carriers
Aerotransport
(ABA?Sweden),
Det Danske Luftfartselskab
(DDL?Denmark), and
Det Norske Luftfartselskap
(DNL?Norway), after the three had been cooperating on international routes since 1946. Until 2001, the three national companies owned a fixed share of the SAS Group, after which the shares of the three companies were merged. The SAS Group previously owned the
Rezidor Hotel Group
(owner of the
Radisson SAS
brand) and
Braathens
and had a minority interest in
bmi
,
airBaltic
,
Texas Air
,
Thai Airways International
, and
LAN Airlines
. SAS was a founder of the
Amadeus Computerised Reservation System
and the
Star Alliance
, where several of the group's airlines are members. SAS runs the frequent flyer program
EuroBonus
.
History
[
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]
The airline was founded on 1 August 1946 when
Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S
,
AB Aerotransport
, and
Det Norske Luftfartselskap AS
(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
.
- SAS Group Milestones
- 1918 AB Aerotransport (ABA), SAS'
Swedish
parent company, is founded.
- 1920 Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S (DDL), SAS' Danish parent company, is founded.
- 1924 DDL is listed on the
Copenhagen Stock Exchange
- 1927 Det Norske Luftfartselskap A/S (DNL), SAS'
Norwegian
parent company, is founded
- 1946 SAS is formed from Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S (DDL), Det Norske Luftfartselskap A/S (DNL), and Svensk Interkontinental Lufttrafik AB (SILA). The first intercontinental flight is from
Stockholm
to
New York
.
- 1951 DDL, DNL, and ABA form the present SAS Consortium.
- 1954 SAS is the world's first airline to fly the
Copenhagen
-
Los Angeles
polar route in regular scheduled service.
- 1955 SILA (which owns 50% of ABA) is quoted on the "Stockbrokers' List" in Sweden.
- 1957 SAS is the first airline to offer "round the world service over the
North Pole
" from
Copenhagen
to
Tokyo
via
Anchorage
.
- 1959 SAS enters the jet age. The first jet aircraft, the
Caravelle
, is introduced in service.
- 1960 SAS opens its first hotel, the SAS Royal Hotel Copenhagen. SAS helps set up
Thai Airways International
, taking a 30% share in the joint venture.
- 1965 SAS is the first airline to introduce an electronic reservation system.
- 1967 DNL is listed on the
Oslo Stock Exchange
.
- 1971 SAS puts its first
Boeing 747
jumbo jet into service.
- 1977 SAS sells its remaining stakes in Thai Airways.
- 1980 SAS opens its first hotel outside of
Scandinavia
, the SAS
Kuwait
Hotel. SILA is listed on the
Stockholm Stock Exchange
.
- 1981 SAS EuroClass is introduced on all
European
routes.
- 1982 SAS is named the most punctual
airline
in
Europe
for the first time.
- 1984 SAS receives the Air Transport World's distinction "Airline of the Year" for 1983.
- 1986
Spanair
is founded.
- 1987 SAS cofounds the
Amadeus
Computerised Reservation System (also known as
GDS
).
- 1989 SAS International Hotels owns 40% of Intercontinental Hotels Group. This stake is sold in 1992.
- 1994 SAS begins to refocus on airline operations in the SAS Group - selling a number of subsidiaries, along with the
franchise
of
Diners Club
Nordic.
- 1996 SAS celebrates its 50th anniversary on August 1. SAS parent company changes its name to SAS Danmark A/S, SAS Norge ASA, and SAS Sverige AB.
- 1997 SAS is one of the founding members of
Star Alliance
.
- 1998
Air Botnia
(
Blue1
) becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of the SAS Group.
- 1999 The SAS Group becomes a majority owner of
Widerøe
.
- 2001 A single SAS share is established. On July 6, SAS is listed on the stock exchanges in Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Oslo. Braathens is acquired by the SAS Group in December.
- 2002 Rezidor SAS Hospitality signs a master franchise agreement with Carlson Hotels Worldwide; the agreement comes to an end in 2009.
- 2003 SAS acquires 49% of the shares in
Estonian Air
.
- 2004 Scandinavian Airlines Sverige, SAS Braathens, and Scandinavian Airlines Danmark are incorporated.
- 2006 SAS sells its remaining shares in the
Rezidor Hotel Group
chain.
- 2007 CEO and President Mats Jansson is inaugurated; SAS sells the
SAS Flight Academy
.
- 2010 CEO Jansson departs his position and is replaced by John S. Dueholm on an interim basis.
- 2011 Rickard Gustafson becomes the new permanent CEO.
- 2012 In January Spanair collapses and lead to write-downs of 1.7bn kronor by SAS.
- 2013 SAS sells 80% of the shares in
Widerøe
.
- 2014 SAS sells the cleaning part of SAS Ground Handling to Sodexo.
- 2015 SAS sells SAS Ground Handling in 14 Airports in Norway to Widerøe Ground Handling. SAS sells Blue1 to CityJet. In November Estonian Air collapses and SAS loses 2.5% of the shares.
- 2016 SAS sells its remaining 20% stake in Widerøe.
- 2020 SAS halts most of its traffic from 16 March due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
.
[4]
Operations
[
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]
SAS Group is the main operational company in the SAS consortium. The SAS Group company structure looks as follows:
- Core SAS Holdings
Head office
[
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]
The SAS Group head office is currently in the
SAS Frosundavik Office Building
in
Frosundavik
[
sv
]
,
Solna Municipality
, Sweden, in the Stockholm area.
[5]
[6]
The SAS Group head office was previously located on the grounds of the
Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN)
in
Sigtuna Municipality
, Sweden.
[7]
Before spring 2011,
[
citation needed
]
it was located in the SAS Frosundavik Office Building.
[8]
[9]
Partners and alliances
[
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]
List of major shareholders
[
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]
Presidents
[
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]
Financial performance
[
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]
Year ended
|
Passengers flown
[11]
|
Employees (Average/Year)
|
Net profit/loss (SEK)
|
Basic
eps
(SEK)
|
2010
[12]
|
25,200,000
|
14,801
|
-2,218,000,000
|
-7.79
|
2009
[13]
|
24,900,000
|
18,786
|
-2,947,000,000
|
-18.20
|
2008
[14]
|
29,000,000
|
24,635
|
-6,360,000,000
|
-6.29
|
2007
[14]
|
29,200,000
|
26,538
|
1,234,000,000
|
3.87
|
2006
|
38,609,000
|
26,554
|
4,936,000,000
|
28.10
|
2005
|
36,312,000
|
32,363
|
418,000,000
|
1.06
|
2004
|
32,400,000
|
32,481
|
-1,813,000,000
|
-11.38
|
2003
|
31,004,000
|
34,544
|
-2,221,000,000
|
-8.60
|
2002
|
33,254,000
|
35,506
|
-736,000,000
|
-0.81
|
2001
|
35,640,000
|
31,035
|
-1,140,000,000
|
-6.58
|
2000*
|
23,240,000
|
30,939
|
2,273,000,000
|
11.79
|
1999*
|
21,991,000
|
30,310
|
1,846,000,000
|
8.41
|
- Prior to 2001, the SAS Group traffic figures did not include airBaltic, Blue1, and Spanair.
Fleet
[
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]
The SAS Group fleet consists of the following aircraft as of November, 2023:
[15]
On January 4, 2010, the SAS Group announced the sales of 18 surplus MD-80 series aircraft to
Allegiant Travel Company
. The aircraft, built from 1985 to 1991, were delivered during the first half of 2010.
[16]
On August 26, 2010, the SAS Group announced a 5-year lease agreement of 8 MD-90 series aircraft to an undisclosed US airline. The aircraft will be delivered between Q3-2010 and Q2-2011.
On April 10, 2018, the SAS Group announced a deal with
Airbus
for 35 new
Airbus A320neos
with another 15 being leased. These aircraft are meant to replace some of SAS's current A320s, as well as their
Bombardier CRJ900
's.
[17]
Bringing the total of the type to 80 aircraft.
SAS Museum
[
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]
The exhibits at the SAS Museum at
Oslo Airport, Gardermoen
, in
Norway
, 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 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 Oslo's 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 Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian historic societies.
See also
[
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References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
SAS Group
.