SAS restarts after bailout: new routes to America and a real Business Class on European flights

After the fall and rescue, it is time for rebirth and expansion. Scandinavian Airlines, which since last September 1. Has switched from Star Alliance to Skyteam following the acquisition of 19.9% of its capital by the Air France/KLM group, announced the opening of 15 new routes during spring 2025, including long-range ones for Toronto, Seattle and New York JFK (from Oslo). And the reintroduction of genuine 'Euro Business' on its short- and medium-haul flights.

Although between the 1970s and the late 1990s SAS regularly flew to Seattle (in recent years using Boeing 767-300ERs) where a large community of Scandinavian ancestry resides, the choice to return to the city on the North Pacific is a consequence of joining Skyteam, as Seattle is Delta Airlines' northwest hub.

The Scandinavian carrier Will reopen the route on May 21 from Copenhagen using a three-class Airbus A350-900 with 40 seats in Business, 32 in Premium Economy and 228 in Economy. The route will operate five times a week on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.

Even the opening of a Oslo-New York JFK (from March 30) will make Delta's connections from the New York hub available to SAS passengers. The flight will be operated daily with a three-class Airbus A321-LR with 22 seats in Business (with 2-2 configuration), 12 seats in Premium Economy (also 2-2) and 123 seats in Economy (3-3).

 

The Queens stopover is also already served once a day from Copenhagen by an A321-LR, with a second flight (also with 321-LR) to be added by Summer 2025.

The Scandinavian carrier will still maintain for the Winter that is beginning and next Summer its presence in Newark, the only New York stopover where he used to fly when he was part of Star Alliance, with one flight a day from Copenhagen and Stockholm.

Also on March 30, the connection between Copenhagen and Toronto, operated 6 times a week with A321-LR, will resume. Among SAS's new products for spring 2025 are. a return to Milan's Linate airport, where the Scandinavian airline will land again starting March 30 five times a week from Stockholm and once a week from Copenhagen also with A320neo.

And speaking of European (or at least short- and medium-haul) flights, SAS CEO Anko Van Der Werff announced for the summer of next year the reintroduction of "a true European Business Class," in place of what has recently been christened as SAS Plus.

Nothing to get particularly excited about: it will in fact be the classic 'Eurobusiness' with the middle seat left empty, a curtain separating premium class from Economy, with a level food and wine offering and dedicated services at the airport (dedicated check-in, fast track to security checkpoints and lounge access).

But, in any case, this will be a no small step forward from the offerings of the existing SAS Plus, which has no free middle seat and offers free what Economy passengers pay for in terms of food and drinks.

The upgrade corresponds to the Scandinavian company's desire to Align its premium offering on intra-European flights with that of new partner Air France/KLM, now that the economic difficulties have been put behind them thanks to the intervention of AF/KL itself in addition to the Danish state, as well as Catlelake and Lind.

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