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Scandinavian Airlines System

The Scandinavian Airlines System, or SAS, was founded in 1946 when the flag carriers of Denmark, Sweden and Norway formed a partnership to handle intercontinental traffic to Scandinavia. The companies then started coordination of European operations in 1948 and finally merged to form the current SAS Consortium in 1951.


SAS Airbus A330-300.



SAS McDonnell Douglas MD-82.

SAS is currently the leading carrier in the Nordic countries, and is also a founding member of the Star Alliance. It operates out of two primary hubs, the Stockholm-Arlanda Airport and the Copenhagen Airport in Kastrup. In the SAS network, the Oslo Airport is serviced mainly with connections from the Swedish and Danish hubs. The consortium's fleet currently consists of 130 aircraft.

SAS has three fully owned subsidiaries, Braathens and Widerĝe in Norway and Blue1 in Finland. It also owns a 49% stake in Spanair, a Spanish carrier. In 2003, the Snowflake brand name, which operates a set of discount-fare routes, was launched. In 2001, SAS and its subsidiaries transported a total of 36 million passengers.

Current fleet by aircraft size
Aircraft Number Type
Airbus A340-3007Long haul
Airbus A330-3003Long haul
Boeing 767-300ER5Long haul
Airbus A321-2007Short haul / domestic
Boeing 737-80015Short haul / domestic
Boeing 737-7006Short haul / domestic
Boeing 737-60024Short haul / domestic
McDonnell Douglas MD-817Short haul / domestic
McDonnell Douglas MD-8232Short haul / domestic
McDonnell Douglas MD-90-308Short haul / domestic
McDonnell Douglas MD-8715Short haul / domestic
De Havilland Q40024Short haul / domestic
Fokker 502Short haul / domestic

See also: List of Swedish companies, List of Norwegian companies, List of Danish companies

External links