Services Airline services | Area served Europe Revenue 39.65 billion SEK (2015) | |
Founded 1946, merger of ABA (1924), DDL (1918), and DNL (1927) Key people Fritz Schur (Chairman)Rickard Gustafson (CEO) Stock price SAS (STO) SEK 14.50 -0.25 (-1.69%)24 Mar, 5:29 PM GMT+1 - Disclaimer CEO Rickard Gustafson (1 Feb 2011–) Profiles | ||
Scandinavian Airlines System Aktiebolag (OSE: SAS+NOK, Nasdaq Stockholm: SAS, SAS DKK), trading as SAS Group and SAS AB, is an airline holding company headquartered in the SAS Frösundavik Office Building in Solna Municipality, Sweden. It is the owner of the airlines Scandinavian Airlines, Blue1 and 20% of Widerøe. SAS used to own 19.9% of the now defunct Spanish airline Spanair. It also owns the aviation services companies SAS Business Opportunities, SAS Cargo Group, SAS Ground Services, and SAS Technical Services. It holds minority ownership of Air Greenland, Estonian Air, and Skyways Express. SAS Group is partially owned by the governments of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, with a 21.4%, 14.3%, and 14.3% ownership, respectively. The remaining 50% is held by private owners, of which Foundation Asset Management at 7.6% is the only significant one. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, the Stockholm Stock Exchange, and the Copenhagen Stock Exchange.
Contents
- History
- Operations
- Head office
- Partners and alliances
- Presidents
- Financial performance
- Fleet
- SAS Museum
- References
The conglomerate was founded in 1951 as a merger between the three Scandinavian flag carriers Aerotransport (ABA), Det Danske Luftfartselskab (DDL), and Det Norske Luftfartselskap (DNL), 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 has owned the Rezidor Hotel Group and Braathens and has had minority ownership of bmi, airBaltic, 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
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.
Operations
SAS Group is the main operational company in the SAS consortium. As of July 2016 the SAS Group company structure looks as follows:
Head office
The SAS Group head office is currently in the SAS Frösundavik Office Building in Frösundavik, Solna Municipality, Sweden, in the Stockholm area.
The SAS Group head office was previously located on the grounds of the Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN) in Sigtuna Municipality, Sweden.
Before spring 2011, it was located in the SAS Frösundavik Office Building.
Partners and alliances
Presidents
Financial performance
Fleet
The SAS Group fleet consists of the following aircraft as of May, 2014:
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, will be delivered during the first half of 2010.
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.
SAS Museum
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.