SAS inside Skyteam before summer: how alliance risking changes (and makes life worse for Italian Amex customers)
The transition of SAS Scandinavian Airlines from Star Alliance to Skyteam will certainly take place even before the summer. Airline sources [...]
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS)
Star Alliance
SkyTeam
CPH
It will definitely happen already before the summer the transition of SAS Scandinavian Airlines from Star Alliance to Skyteam. Airline sources spoke of an as-yet unidentified date, but one that will fall between the month of April and the month of June.
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A transition, just before the busy summer season, that certainly won't make anyone happy who has a Miles & More card in his pocket or some other frequent flyer program that is part of Star, had also chosen the Scandinavian carrier in his vacation life to accumulate miles on his account.
The transfer is a consequence of the $1.16 billion SAS 'bailout' operated last October by a consortium involving the Air France-KLM Group that from the operation derived the 20% from SAS., with the prospect in the future of further increasing this participation.
But the restructuring plan had produced poor results, prompting it either to announce a more than $1 billion investment plan by an international consortium, as a result of which the company's 32% is now owned by the U.S. financial giant Castlelake, the 26% by the Danish state, and the 20%, precisely, by Air France-KLM.
The 'telltale' of an imminent exit of SAS from Star Alliance had been the announcement a few weeks ago of thestart next summer of a direct Copenhagen-Atlanta flight (which is the main hub of Delta, itself the major Skyteam company), which will be operated daily by A330 from June 5 during the summer season and five times a week by A350 from October.
In 1997 SAS had been, along with United Airlines, Lufthansa, Air Canada and Thai Airways, one of the founders of Star Alliance, a 'colossus' that today Has 26 'full member' companies and another 40 affiliates.
In Europe All Lufthansa Group companies are members of it (Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussel Airlines and Eurowings), Aegean Airlines, Tap Portugal, Croatia Airlines, Lot Polish Airlines and Turkish Airlines.
The 26 members operate a total fleet of about 5 thousand airplanes, serving about 1,300 airports in about 200 countries, with Nearly 20 thousand departures a day. In early 2023 Star was the largest among the three major international alliances in terms of global market share: 17.5% versus Skyteam's 13.7% and Oneworld's 12%.
Skyteam, on the other hand, was founded in 2000 by Air France, Delta Airlines, Korean Air and Aeromexico. In Europe, it includes, in addition to Air France and KLM. ITA Airways (Which, however, If the deal with Lufthansa goes through, it would move to Star Alliance), Czech Airlines, Air Europa, Tarom and Virgin Atlantic. The total fleet of its 19 full members exceeds the 3,000 aircraft and serves about 1,200 destinations in about 180 countries Of the world.
Once it emerges from bankruptcy proceedings, Sas should also enter to be part of the Transatlantic joint venture together with Air France-KLM, Delta and Virgin Atlantic.
A change that Will also have an impact in Membership Rewards point accumulators., the move to Skyteam will further shift The weight of Italian partnerships of those who use American Express points..
In fact, SAS' Euobonus is one of only two Star Alliance partners. at list of Membership Rewards programs, the change of alliance then Will leave only Krisflyer/Singapore as the only option to convert Amex points Toward an SA company, way too much.
