SAS Guide

Known for its attention to detail, SAS offers some of the finest flying accommodation in the world. With a network of destinations that continues to expand, the airline is part of the Star Alliance allowing it to interlink with a number of the world's largest and most prestigious carriers. In addition, SAS operates it own impressive array of flights to many places around the world, which helps to explain why millions of people choose to fly with SAS each year.

SAS History & Information

The main headquarters for SAS is maintained in Stockholm, Sweden, with bases strategically located around Scandinavia. Three of the primary hubs for SAS are found at the Copenhagen-Kastrup Airport, the Stockholm-Arlanda Airport, and the Oslo-Gardermoen Airport. Much of the European flight traffic is routed through Copenhagen, as well as many of the international flights.

Carrying over 25 million passengers each year, SAS began as a means of handling passenger traffic for the three countries of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. The formation of SAS began as an alliance between the three existing airlines of Svensk Interkontinental Lufttrafik, Det Danske Luftfartselskab and Det Norske Luftfartselskap. By 1948, Aerotransport, a Swedish flag carrier, had joined the SAS family, which helped to boost both public awareness and the ability of the airline to serve a wider clientele. Over the years, SAS has continued to expand routes far away from its core hubs, allowing it to compete with many of Europe's larger airlines with relative ease.

SAS Routes

Several points around Asia are served by SAS; these include the Beijing Capital International Airport in China, the Narita International Airport in Japan, the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok and the Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates.

Europe is the primary focus of SAS with flights to and from a number of locations occurring on a daily basis. Belgium is served by flights to and from Brussels Airport, while Denmark enjoys SAS services at the Aalborg Airport, the Aarhus Airport and the Copenhagen Airport. SAS also offer regular flights to and from points in France including Paris, Nice and Lyons.

Germany is another example of a country that enjoys considerable support from SAS. Dusseldorf, Hanover and Munich are all sites of regular SAS flights. In addition, flights to Verline-Tegel Airport, Frankfurt Airport, Hamburg Airport, Nuremburg Airport and Stuttgart Airport are available for travellers bound for points in Germany.

Finland is served by SAS flights to Helsinki and Turku. Poland enjoys SAS flights in and out of Gdansk, Warsaw and Poznan. The Athens International Airport in Greece is host to SAS flights as is the Findel Airport in Luxembourg. Iceland is served by flights to and from the Keflavik Airport in Reykjavik.

Numerous SAS flights provide services to different points in Norway. It is possible to take flights to and from such locations as Alta, Harstad, Kirkense, Molde, Oslo, Trondheim and Bergen. The United Kingdom is provided with services to and from the cities of Birmingham, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. In London, SAS has flights to and from London Heathrow, London Gatwick and the London City Airport. There is also a regular flight to and from Manchester.

In North America, SAS provides flights to several key destinations around the United States; these include Washington DC, Newark, New Jersey and Chicago, Illinois.

The SAS Fleet

The 159 strong fleet of SAS includes several well-known aircraft. Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Fokker and McDonnell Douglas craft are utilised to manage the network of flights that cover Scandinavia, Europe, Asia and the United States.

Some of the smaller crafts such as the Bombardier CRJ900, offer only Economy class seating. The Airbus A340-300 offers a total of 245 seats including 46 Business class and 28 extra, along with a total of 171 Economy class seats.

Additional Information

For many flights, SAS offers a buy on board programme known as CloudShop that offers an array of sandwiches, various packaged meals and beverages for consumption during the flights. Longer flights that leave early in the morning sometimes include free breakfasts for the passengers with selections from the Cloudshop available later in the day. Magazines and newspapers for the points of destination are provided free of charge on some flights and SAS also periodically offer a giveaway for passengers at the end of a flight, often Valrhona chocolates.