SAS to Launch New European Service Concept and New Madrid Route

Scandinavian Airlines is launching a new route between Stockholm-Arlanda Airport and Madrid Barajas Airport on July 1.

In June, meanwhile, SAS is launching a new service concept in Scandinavia and Europe.

The new twice-weekly Stockholm-Madrid service (operated on Mondays and Fridays) will complement the eight-times-weekly round-trips that Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) already offers from Copenhagen to Madrid. SAS will now provide up to 10 departures a week between Scandinavia and Madrid.

SAS Boeing 737-800 SE-DTK takes off from Boeing Field in Seattle

Scandinavian Airlines’ Madrid flights on Mondays will leave from Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (IATA code ARN) at 9.15 a.m. and return from Madrid Barajas Airport (MAD) at 2.05 p.m.

The carrier’s Friday flights will leave at 7.10 a.m. from ARN, returning from MAD at 3.50 p.m. SAS is planning to use Boeing 737NG equipment on the route, which will have a flight time of approximately 3 hours 50 minutes.

“We know that many of our customers want to travel with SAS, whether they are travelling for business or pleasure. So we’re happy to offer flights between Arlanda and Madrid that are both good for business travellers who want to start their week in Madrid and other passengers who want to spend a long weekend there,” says Joakim Landholm, chief commercial officer at SAS.

To date in 2013 SAS (which is a member of Star Alliance) has launched 47 new routes. Its new routes from Stockholm-Arlanda are to Vilnius, Innsbruck, Pula, Palermo, Cagliari, Thessaloniki, Tel Aviv, Pristina and Alanya.

Scandinavian Airlines is unusual in operating both Airbus A320-family aircraft and Boeing 737s, with the Airbus single-aisle jets mainly based at the three-nation carrier’s hub at Copenhagen and the 737s mainly based at its hubs at Oslo and Stockholm. Among SAS’ A320-family jets are eight A321-200s

It has also launched new routes in 2013 from Gothenburg to Nice and Pristina. For more information, visit www.sas.se.

Scandinavian Airlines’ new onboard service concept will replace its previous service classes with two new alternatives, SAS Go and SAS Plus.

According to SAS, it has worked with its customers to develop these service products, which are intended to meet an increasing demand for smoother and more time-efficient journeys for both leisure and business passengers.

In November last year SAS Group launched a new strategic plan, 4Excellence Next Generation (4XNG), to secure its future as a competitive company.

Scandinavian Airlines Boeing 737-883 LN-RRG is photographed on final approach to Lanzarote Airport in Spain’s Canary Islands. SAS operates a total of 65 737NGs, among them 737-600s, 737-700s and 737-800s. The airline is one of the few operators of the 737-600 and with 28 in service has the world’s largest fleet of the type

The carrier says its operations are now radically changing as a result of new collective agreements for flight staff, centralization and downsizing of its administrative organization, and outsourcing and sale of operations. As part of this plan SAS is renewing and developing its customer offerings.

SAS Go, for customers who want to have a lot, and SAS Plus, for customers who want to have more. This new concept has been developed closely with customers and includes a new and improved onboard service concept.

“We want to make traveling easier for our customers. For SAS, simplicity is when customers receive exactly what they need,” says Rickard Gustafson, CEO and group president of SAS. “When we were developing this new concept, we based on our work on our customer needs rather than on industry standards.”

Among the various aircraft types in Scandinavian Airlines’ diverse fleet are 12 Bombardier CRJ900 NextGen regional jets. This photograph shows a SAS CRJ900 at the gate at Copenhagen Airport, while another taxis past

SAS Go always includes a checked bag at no extra charge, coffee or tea onboard, as well as several services to save time, including mobile check-in.

For higher fares, SAS Plus includes two checked bags at no extra charge, SAS Fast Track, lounge access, meals and drinks onboard as well as double points in the SAS EuroBonus frequent-flyer program; all of this is on top of the benefits offered by SAS Go.

The airline says it is also adopting a completely new onboard service concept, replacing its traditional in-flight meal offering on Scandinavian and European flights with a café and a new range of food options that will be offered to all customers onboard.