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| Founded | 2017 (as SAS Ireland) | ||||||
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| Commenced operations |
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| Operating bases | |||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | EuroBonus | ||||||
| Alliance | SkyTeam (affiliate) | ||||||
| Fleet size | 25 | ||||||
| Parent company | SAS Group | ||||||
| Headquarters | Dublin, Ireland | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
Scandinavian Airlines Ireland Ltd, [1] also known as SAS Connect, and previously SAS Ireland, is a subsidiary of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), and by extension SAS Group. The airline exclusively operates flights on behalf of SAS with a fleet of Airbus A320neo aircraft.
SAS set up the subsidiary as SAS Ireland in early 2017 and expected it to be operational by 1 November 2017. Initially, the airline was expected to be equipped with nine brand new Airbus A320neo; five aircraft to commence flights out of London Heathrow, and later from Málaga in spring 2018, with the remaining four aircraft on behalf of its parent company. [2]
SAS' intention was to replace its own aircraft with cheaper ones crewed and based outside Scandinavia to compete better with other airlines. [3] The airline did not intend to employ its own staff, which was instead carried out by CAE, an aviation recruitment firm. CAE subsequently began the employment of the back end personnel in 2017. [4]
The Swedish Pilots Union expressed its dissatisfaction with the operational structure of the new airline, suggesting it violates the current labour-agreements. The union also lamented the lack of coverage in Scandinavian media. [5] The Swedish Cabin Crew Union also condemned the new venture, and stated that SAS established the airline to "not pay decent salaries" to cabin crew. [6] Jonas Sjöstedt, the former leader of the Swedish Left Party told a newspaper that the government of Sweden would have to stop the establishment of the new airline, but the Swedish minister for enterprise, Mikael Damberg told the same paper that "it is not an issue for the owner if the company decides to open bases abroad". [7]
Citing delivery delays, SAS Ireland had to delay its launch until December 2017. [8] The first revenue flight took place on 20 December 2017 from Copenhagen to London Heathrow. [9]
In the summer of 2018, many flights intended to be operated by SAS Ireland were either cancelled or operated by the parent. At the same time, 26 pilots at SAS Ireland sent a letter to the corporate governance at SAS Group criticizing working conditions and safety levels. The chief instructor at SAS Ireland resigned after being criticized for having safety standards which were too high. During the brief period, that the airline had been operating, they experienced the leave of a number of pilots with most of the ones that were still employed were actively looking for new employment. [10]
In April 2020, SAS Ireland announced the closure of its Málaga base. [11] In May 2021, it was announced that SAS Ireland would set up a base in Copenhagen, initially operating a fleet of 3-5 A320neo aircraft. SAS and the Danish union FPU (a part of the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions or FH) have signed a new collective bargaining agreement for pilots and cabin crew. [12] In September 2021, SAS announced that SAS Ireland would be renamed SAS Connect, [13] and later reported that operations based in Copenhagen would launch in early 2022. [14] [15]
As of June 2024 [update] , SAS Connect operates the following aircraft: [16]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Y | M | Total | ||||
| Airbus A320neo | 25 | — | — | — | 180 | 180 | Operating for Scandinavian Airlines. |
| Total | 25 | — | |||||
Scandinavian Airlines is the flag carrier airline of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Short for Scandinavian Airlines System and legally referred to as Scandinavian Airlines System Denmark-Norway-Sweden, SAS is part of SAS Group and is headquartered in Solna, Sweden.
Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup is an international airport serving Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, as well as Zealand, the Øresund Region, and southern Sweden including Scania. In 2023 it is the largest airport in the Nordic countries.
Widerøes Flyveselskap AS, trading as Widerøe, is a Norwegian airline, and is the largest regional airline operating in the Nordic countries. The airline's fleet of 44 Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft, with three more on order, and 3 Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, serves over 40 domestic and international destinations. Widerøe has a turnover of 3.5 billion kr; carries 2.8 million annual passengers; has 3,500 employees and performs 450 take-offs and landings each day.
Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, trading as Norwegian, is a Norwegian low-cost airline and Scandinavia's second-largest airline, behind Scandinavian Airlines. It is the fourth largest low-cost carrier in Europe behind Wizz Air, easyJet and Ryanair, the largest airline in Norway, and the ninth-largest airline in Europe in terms of passenger numbers. It offers a high-frequency domestic flight schedule within Scandinavia and Finland, and to business destinations such as London, as well as to holiday destinations in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands, transporting over 30 million people in 2016. The airline is known for its distinctive livery of white with a red nose, with portraits of high achievers on the tail fins of its aircraft.
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Snowflake was a low-cost airline that operated out of Stockholm, Sweden, and Copenhagen, Denmark between 30 March 2003 and 30 October 2004. Owned by the SAS Group, it was organized as a business unit within Scandinavian Airlines, operating as a virtual airline using their crew and aircraft. Snowflake served a total 28 destinations from its bases at Stockholm Arlanda Airport and Copenhagen Airport.
CityJet is an Irish regional airline with headquarters at Dublin Airport. It was founded in 1992 and has gone through a series of corporate structures. The airline was sold to Air France in 2000 and then by Air France to Intro Aviation in May 2014; in March 2016 the airline was bought by founder Pat Byrne and other investors. CityJet ended its own-brand scheduled services in 2018 and is now a major provider of wet leasing to European airlines. As of Summer 2023, CityJet operates wet lease services on behalf of Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa and Scandinavian Airlines.
Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 751 was a regularly scheduled Scandinavian Airlines passenger flight from Stockholm, Sweden, to Warsaw, Poland, via Copenhagen, Denmark. On 27 December 1991, a McDonnell Douglas MD-81 operating the flight, registration OY-KHO, piloted by Danish Captain Stefan G. Rasmussen (44) and Swedish first officer Ulf Cedermark (34), both experienced pilots with 8,000 and 3,000 flight hours, respectively, was forced to make an emergency landing in a field near Gottröra, Sweden. Ice had collected on the wings' inner roots before takeoff, broke off, and was ingested into the engines as the aircraft became airborne on takeoff, ultimately disabling both engines. All 129 passengers and crew aboard survived.
SAS AB, trading as SAS Group, is an airline holding company headquartered in Solna Municipality, Sweden. It is the owner of the airlines Scandinavian Airlines, SAS Link, and SAS Connect.
Sichuan Airlines is the largest airline in Western China, headquartered in Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Lufthansa CityLine GmbH is a German regional airline with its headquarters on the grounds of Munich Airport. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lufthansa and maintains hubs at Frankfurt Airport and Munich Airport, from where it operates a dense domestic and European network as a member of Lufthansa Regional.
Nova Airlines AB, operating as Novair, was a Swedish airline headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden that operated on behalf of one of Sweden's largest travel agencies, Apollo. It was owned by Jet Nordic Group and operated charter flights mainly to the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands. Its main base and hub of operations was Stockholm Arlanda Airport, but the airline also operated from Oslo Airport, Copenhagen Airport, Gothenburg Landvetter Airport and Billund Airport. Novair closed on 9 October 2023.
SAS Braathens was the name of Norway's largest airline, created by a merger between Scandinavian Airlines' Norwegian division and Braathens in 2004. On 1 June 2007, the airline was integrated into mainline SAS, and changed its name to SAS Scandinavian Airlines Norge. The airline operated from its hub at Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, and was also the largest national branch of Scandinavian Airlines. SAS Braathens had its head office in Diamanten on the grounds of the now-closed Fornebu Airport in Fornebu, Bærum, Norway.
Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, as well as to provide temporary increase in capacity. The industry has two main leasing types: wet-leasing, which is normally used for short-term leasing, and dry-leasing which is more normal for longer-term leases. The industry also uses combinations of wet and dry. For example, when the aircraft is wet-leased to establish new services, then as the airline's flight or cabin crews become trained, they can be switched to a dry lease. In some markets, there may also be hybrid models, such as with crew provided by lessees.
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The history of Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) from 1933 to 1951 covers the first attempts at transatlantic travel, the establishment of a consortium and finally the establishment of the consolidated SAS. Aerotransport, the national airline of Sweden, and Det Norske Luftfartselskap (DNL), the national airline of Norway, both started planning transatlantic routes in the mid-1930s. By 1939, negotiations were started with Det Danske Luftfartselskab (DDL) of Denmark, and by 1940 services were to begin. Because of the German occupation of Denmark and Norway, the plans collapsed. In Sweden, Svensk Interkontinental Lufttrafik (SILA) was founded to start private transatlantic flights, which commenced in 1945. Negotiations were started again, and in 1946 the consortium Overseas Scandinavian Airlines System (OSAS) was established to start routes to New York and South America.
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Media related to Scandinavian Airlines Connect at Wikimedia Commons
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