Scandinavian Airlines (SAS)

SAS is launching two attractive direct routes for ski enthusiasts. Next winter, it will be possible to fly direct from Oslo to Innsbruck and Salzburg. The direct route to Salzburg will depart every Wednesday and Saturday from December 3 through March 28. The route to Innsbruck will depart on Tuesdays and Fridays during the period December 26 through March 27.

As the majority owner, SAS has bought out the other shareholders in the travel experience company GO. The company will be merged with the vacation and leisure unit at SAS.

SAS Norge has been instructed to pay NOK 132 million in compensation to Norwegian in a civil suit at Asker and Bærum District Court. "At the present time, we are focusing all our energy on handling the consequences of the Avinor strike, and we will review the terms of the judgment when Norwegian aviation has returned to normal. But it is highly probable that we will appeal this judgment," says Ola Strand, President of SAS Norge.

The Public Prosecutor in Stockholm has decided to discontinue the preliminary investigation regarding suspicions of the crime of "creating danger to another person" in conjunction with the SAS accidents involving Dash 8 Q400 aircraft in Aalborg and Vilnius on September 9, 2007 and September 12, 2007, respectively.

In a bid to further cut costs, SAS is now requesting a 10-percent price reduction on goods and services in a letter to its suppliers, an activity that is part of the framework of the company's Profit 2008 action program.

On Monday the 31t of March, SAS introduced flights between Stockholm-Arlanda Airport and Zagreb, Croatia. The line between Stockholm and Zagreb will be operated with departures on Mondays and Friday afternoons. From the 30th of April there will also be departures on Wednesdays.

SAS has today decided with immediate effect to withdraw Chinese cabin crew on flights between Copenhagen and Beijing. This measure follows the concern surrounding the situation for SAS's Chinese employed cabin crew.

On April 1, 2008, SAS and the Danish Pilots' Association (DPF), the Norwegian SAS Pilots' Association (NSF) and the Swedish Pilots' Association (SPF) signed a two-year collective agreement on salaries and general terms of service. The agreement period is April 1, 2007, through March 31, 2009. SAS now has multiyear agreements with all 39 trade union organizations in the Group.

SAS Sverige is offering its customers the possibility to book tickets to several European city destinations from SEK 399, including taxes and fees. The destinations that can be booked are London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Rome, Paris, Berlin, Edinburgh and Zagreb. From Gothenburg, the offer is available to London.

On 10 March Spanair launched its Spanairx4 product, which gives customers flying its domestic routes the option of choosing between four different flight classes: Business, Avant, Economy Plus and Economy. The company is thereby offering its passengers a time-saving product, which enhances flexibility and adds to the advantages offered by the four classes.

The SAS Group has signed a letter of intent with Amadeus, one of the leading suppliers of global distribution systems and IT solutions in the airline industry. The letter of intent means that parts of the SAS commercial IT platform will be replaced. These include sales, booking, ticketing, check-in and load-control.

SAS has agreed a settlement with Bombardier and Goodrich regarding the incidents involving the Dash aircraft in the autumn of 2007. The details of the agreement are confidential but SAS Group confirms the total financial compensation is slightly more than SEK 1 billion in the form of a cash payment and credits for future firm and optional aircraft orders.

The SAS Group is launching a new environmental strategy that includes an ambitious strategic environmental target. The new environmental target is to reduce total carbon-dioxide emissions by 20 percent by 2020 compared with 2007.

SAS Scandinavian Airlines is planning to commence its Copenhagen – San Francisco route during spring next year. It will be SAS' fifth new intercontinental route within a two-year period, including the new Copenhagen - Delhi route that will launch on October 27.

It will now be simpler to fly with SAS to Italy. As of April 16, SAS is to increase the number of departures between Stockholm and Milan. This increase will involve an additional afternoon departure between Arlanda and Malpensa on Wednesdays and Fridays. SAS now flies nine times a week direct to Milan from Stockholm.

SAS has purchased the Reitan Group's shares in the travel company GO, and will thereby become the principal shareholder in the company. The distribution agreement between GO and the Reitan Group will remain as is.

SAS Norge is to commence flights to Warsaw. This is the third Polish destination to which SAS will start flying in the summer and the 15th new direct route launched by the carrier this year.

SAS Scandinavian Airlines has upgraded its premium economy class, Economy Extra, on its long-haul route network. The service class, which is aimed at both business travelers and discerning leisure travelers, now has dedicated crew, an improved meal service and an enhanced attention to detail.

SAS Sverige is introducing a biometric solution for baggage handling at Arlanda and Landvetter to provide customers with simpler and smoother travel. Approximately 50 percent of all passengers on SAS's domestic flights travel with baggage and will be able to utilize the biometric solution.

SAS has made a thorough technical examination of the landing gear on the Dash 8 Q400 aircraft that were taken out of service after the third accident involving this aircraft type in autumn 2007.

SAS Sverige is to introduce the new summer destinations of Zagreb and Stavanger. In addition, two routes to Nice will be opened in the summer, one from Ängelholm and one from Växjö. The Stockholm - Tromsö route will also be operated during the summer.

SAS Scandinavian Airlines' award-winning frequent flyer program EuroBonus has joined the Star Alliance Upgrade Award. It is the world's first confirmed upgrade award product offer by an airline alliance.

SAS Scandinavian Airlines today concluded Europe's first commercial trans-Atlantic green approach trial, which is designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. SK904, an Airbus A330, from New York's Newark airport arrived early this morning at Stockholm Arlanda Airport, following a successful Continuous Descent Approach (CDA).

SAS Scandinavian Airlines is increasing its service between Scandinavia and Beijing due to high demand. A daily service between Copenhagen and Beijing was introduced last month and early next year, SAS will also further increase frequency on its Stockholm-Beijing route to six weekly.

Next year, SAS will expand its fleet of aircraft with an additional Airbus A340, thereby making it possible to launch two new intercontinental routes. In autumn 2008, New Delhi in India and San Francisco in the US will be introduced to the traffic program.

Following the recent period of events involving aircraft of the Dash 8 Q400 type, SAS's management, following an unscheduled meeting of the Board of Directors held on Monday, has decided to immediately discontinue the use of this type of aircraft.

SAS Scandinavian Airlines' new route to Dubai offers onward connections to the most important cities in the Middle East in co-operation with Emirates. Flights to Bahrain, Doha (Qatar), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Kuwait, Muscat (Oman), and Tehran (Iran) can now be booked with SAS online or via travel agents. Both Mauritius and the Seychelles are also available to book through travel agents.

SAS Scandinavian Airlines has announced that it has exercised options for two Next-Generation 737-800 aircraft. The airplanes will strengthen the 737 fleet of SAS Scandinavian Airlines to support growth on domestic and intra-European routes. The airline will equip the airplanes with fuel-saving Blended Winglets.

SAS International adds two new routes to its intercontinental network this month. On October 29, SAS will commence a thrice-weekly service between Stockholm and Bangkok, and on October 31, SAS will launch a new route between Copenhagen and Dubai.

SAS Scandinavian Airlines has enhanced its long-haul Business class with a number of innovations to ensure even simpler and more hassle free traveling. New features include the introduction of a unique last-minute Business class fare, a new comfort kit, upgraded audio/video-on-demand and a "breakfast on the go" concept.

As the SAS EuroBonus program celebrates its 15th anniversary, a new search service is now being introduced that makes it faster and easier to plan bonus travel. With the new SAS "seat prognosis" service, members can see where bonus seats are available with SAS, Blue 1 and Widerøe. The search service can be used by 2.6 million EuroBonus members.

During the latter part of 2007, SAS will begin green flights over the Atlantic, primarily from the east coast of the US to Stockholm/Arlanda. The flights will be made on Airbus A330’s.

SAS Scandinavian Airlines will increase its frequencies between Scandinavia and China for the summer 2008 programme. As of April 2008, SAS will operate 13 weekly services between Scandinavia and China, an addition of three weekly departures.

SAS Scandinavian Airlines has improved its fare structure for both business and leisure travelers, creating more flexibility and choice, and much fewer rules and restrictions for customers on its intercontinental flights.

Within SAS's aggressive focus on new routes in the Nordic region, it is now the turn of Bergen on the west coast of Norway. From June 25 and throughout the summer, Scandinavian Airlines Sverige will offer up to five direct flights per week from Arlanda to Bergen.

Travel with SAS to the US this summer in order to win a trip for two to one of the 10 most popular destinations within the SAS network. SAS can take you from anywhere in Scandinavia to anywhere in the US, and to celebrate the exciting magnitude of travel that America has to offer, SAS invites you to share your favorite US travel tips.

During the summer, SAS is increasing the number of flights to Kiruna in Sweden, from seven per week to ten per week. Children up to the age of 15 travel free of charge, making it easy for the whole family to travel to Kiruna and experience the midnight sun this summer.

To strengthen the SAS Groups position as Northern Europes leading airline the Board of Directors of SAS has decided to give the company a new direction. SAS is to concentrate on its core business - flying to, from and within Northern Europe, the home market of our most important customer groups and where SAS market position is also the strongest.

Three new routes to Spain will be launched in the autumn: Gothenburg-Barcelona, Gothenburg-Malaga and Stockholm-Barcelona. This means that during 2007 Scandinavian Airlines Sverige has expanded with the launch of 12 new international destinations from Sweden.

Copenhagen Airport has become the first airport in the world to develop a baggage-handling system that takes bags from check-in to placement in the aircraft without manual handling.

SAS Sverige is to operate according to the ordinary timetable from Wednesday, May 30. The Swedish Salaried Employees' Union signed a new collective agreement for Scandinavian Airlines Sverige's cabin employees just after midnight. The agreement will apply form March 1, 2007 through April 30, 2010.

The SAS Business Sleeper is now available for customers on all Scandinavian Airlines' intercontinental flights to Asia and the US out of its Copenhagen and Stockholm hubs.

SAS Braathens, Norway's largest scheduled airline, will become SAS Norge on June 1. The name change, which was proposed by SAS Braathens' CEO Ola Strand, was approved by the company's general assembly this afternoon.

Based on a new partnership, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is able to offer its Scandinavian customers a flight product involving only one stop to and from Croatia. SAS and Croatia Airlines have entered into a code-share partnership on SAS's routes from Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen to Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna, Amsterdam and Zurich, and connecting flights on Croatia Airlines' routes to Zagreb and Split.

Malaysia Airlines chose SAS Ground Services as their new provider of ground handling at London Heathrow. The agreement is valid from May 16. Malaysia Airlines operates two daily flights with Boeing 747-400 between London and Kuala Lumpur.

Now Norwegians can also fly direct to the heart of London. SAS Braathens is to launch a new route to London City Airport. London City Airport is situated only ten kilometers from the City of London, which is one of Europe's leading financial centers. Many banks, stock-broking firms and law firms have their headquarters here.

SAS can now offer customers in the Group the possibility to offset carbon dioxide emissions arising from air travel by paying compensation.

SAS is acting on the demand for non-stop flights from Scandinavia to Dubai. SAS is the first airline to open a direct connection between Scandinavia and Dubai. The inaugural flight Copenhagen-Dubai will take off October 31, 2007. The new service will operate three times a week in both directions until March 29, 2008.

Scandinavian Airlines Sverige is launching a major new drive in relation to route expansion. More than 10 new routes are being opened linking Stockholm with destinations in the Nordic countries, Europe and Asia.

Both business and leisure travelers are showing widespread interest in Bangkok. Therefore, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) will launch a new route from Stockholm to Bangkok at the end of October 2007. This route will be operated three times a week in both directions in addition to the already existing service between Copenhagen and Bangkok.

SAS's new President and CEO Mats Jansson has spoken about future new features to products and services for the largest customer groups that travel with SAS, namely frequent travelers.

As part of SAS's new China strategy, the aim of which is to rationalize air traffic and become better at meeting customer needs through such activities as expanding accessibility to the Chinese market, SAS has chosen to focus on Beijing from several locations in Scandinavia.

SAS has become the first airline in the world to offer travelers the opportunity to place complementary telephone calls via IP telephony. SAS has long provided access to the Internet via PCs in all of the company's lounges and was also the first airline in the world to offer wireless Internet connections in all of its lounges.

MyTravel Airways and SAS Ground Services (SGS) have signed a four-year strategic cooperation agreement for ground handling services. Passenger services and ramp handling are both included.

Effective January 15, anyone traveling with Star Alliance and SAS to Östersund via Arlanda can reclaim their baggage at Åre Östersund Airport. Accordingly, passengers do not need to take their baggage through customs clearance at Arlanda and check it in again.

In response to increased demand and a desire to offer its customers more flexible solutions, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) will increase its traffic between Copenhagen and New York with an additional service from May 20th, 2007.

SAS Sweden is to launch a new biometric system throughout Sweden. You travel using your fingerprint, which is matched to your checked baggage. This makes the check-in process easier and improves security. The new technology will be launched during November and December at almost all airports served by SAS in Sweden.

SAS Sweden is opening three new routes from Stockholm - to Bergen, Lyon and Bristol - in time for the summer vacation season. This means that SAS Sweden will add a total of nine new destinations to its network next year. The airline is also increasing the number of seats available on its existing routes to the leisure destinations Nice, Istanbul, Athens and Split.

Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) and SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) recently held a code share agreement signing ceremony at THAI's head office in Bangkok in order to establish an extensive partnership to offer services beyond their destinations. The code share agreement will include services to/from Bangkok-Singapore/Hong Kong/Kuala Lumpur/Sydney from December 15, 2006, and Bangkok-Melbourne/Brisbane/Auckland/Perth from January 15, 2007, as well as to/from Copenhagen-Oslo/Gothenburg/Aalborg/Aarhus from December 15, 2006.