SAS Group

Scandinavian Airlines System Aktiebolag

Type	Public (OSE: SAS+NOK) (Nasdaq Stockholm: SAS0SAS DKK)
Industry	Aviation
Founded	1946, merger of ABA (1924), DDL (1918), and DNL (1927)
Headquarters	SAS Frösundavik Office Building Solna Municipality, Sweden
Area served	Europe
Key people	Fritz Schur (Chairman) Rickard Gustafson (CEO)
Services	Airline services
Revenue	SEK 39.650 billion (2015)[1]
Operating income	SEK 1.417 billion (2015)[2]
Net income	SEK 956 million (2015)[3]
Total assets	SEK 30.266 billion (2015)[4]
Total equity	SEK 6.339 billion (2015)[5]
Owner	Government of Sweden (21.4%) Government of Denmark (14.3%) Government of Norway (14.3%)
Number of employees	11,288 (2015)
Website	www.sasgroup.net

Scandinavian Airlines System Aktiebolag^[6] (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.

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.

Radisson hotel in Oslo no longer managed by SAS as of 2009. (This picture was taken in May 2005.)

SAS Group Milestones

• 1918 Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S (DDL), SAS' Danish parent company, is founded
• 1920 DDL is listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange
• 1924 AB Aerotransport (ABA), SAS' Swedish parent company, is founded
• 1927 Det Norske Luftfartselskap A/S (DNL), SAS' Norwegian parent company, is founded
• 1946 SAS is formed from Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S (DDL), Det Norske Luftfartselskap A/S (DNL), and Svensk Interkontinental Lufttrafik AB (SILA). The first intercontinental flight is from Stockholm to New York.
• 1951 DDL, DNL, and ABA form the present SAS Consortium.
• 1954 SAS is the world's first airline to fly the Copenhagen - Los Angeles polar route in regular scheduled service.
• 1955 SILA (which owns 50% of ABA) is quoted on the "Stockbrokers' List" in Sweden.
• 1957 SAS is the first airline to offer "round the world service over the North Pole" from Copenhagen to Tokyo via Anchorage.
• 1959 SAS enters the jet age. The first jet aircraft, the Caravelle, is introduced in service.
• 1960 SAS opens its first hotel, the SAS Royal Hotel Copenhagen. SAS helps set up Thai Airways International, taking a 30% share in the joint venture.
• 1965 SAS is the first airline to introduce an electronic reservation system.
• 1967 DNL is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
• 1971 SAS puts its first Boeing 747 jumbo jet into service.
• 1977 SAS sells its remaining stakes in Thai Airways.
• 1980 SAS opens its first hotel outside of Scandinavia, the SAS Kuwait Hotel. SILA is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.
• 1981 SAS EuroClass is introduced on all European routes.
• 1982 SAS is named the most punctual airline in Europe for the first time.
• 1984 SAS receives the Air Transport World's distinction "Airline of the Year" for 1983.
• 1986 Spanair is founded.
• 1987 SAS cofounds the Amadeus Computerised Reservation System (also known as GDS).
• 1989 SAS International Hotels owns 40% of Intercontinental Hotels Group. This stake is sold in 1992.
• 1994 SAS begins to refocus on airline operations in the SAS Group - selling a number of subsidiaries, along with the franchise of Diners Club Nordic.
• 1996 SAS celebrates its 50th anniversary on August 1. SAS parent company changes its name to SAS Danmark A/S, SAS Norge ASA, and SAS Sverige AB.
• 1997 SAS is one of the founding members of Star Alliance.
• 1998 Air Botnia (Blue1) becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of the SAS Group.
• 1999 The SAS Group becomes a majority owner of Widerøe.
• 2001 A single SAS share is established. On July 6, SAS is listed on the stock exchanges in Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Oslo. Braathens is acquired by the SAS Group in December.
• 2002 Rezidor SAS Hospitality signs a master franchise agreement with Carlson Hotels Worldwide; the agreement comes to an end in 2009.
• 2003 SAS acquires 49% of the shares in Estonian Air.
• 2004 Scandinavian Airlines Sverige, SAS Braathens, and Scandinavian Airlines Danmark are incorporated.
• 2006 SAS sells its remaining shares in the Rezidor Hotel Group chain.
• 2007 CEO and President Mats Jansson is inaugurated; SAS sells the SAS Flight Academy.
• 2010 CEO Jansson departs his position and is replaced by John S. Dueholm on an interim basis.
• 2011 Rickard Gustafson becomes the new permanent CEO.
• 2012 In January Spanair collapses and lead to write-downs of 1.7bn kronor by SAS.
• 2013 SAS sells 80% of the shares in Widerøe.
• 2014 SAS sells the cleaning part of SAS Ground Handling to Sodexo.
• 2015 SAS sells SAS Ground Handling in 14 Airports in Norway to Widerøe Ground Handling. SAS sells Blue1 to CityJet. In November Estonian Air collapses and SAS loss 2.5% of the shares.
• 2016 SAS sells its remaining 20% stake in Widerøe.

Operations

SAS Group is the main operational company in the SAS consortium. As of July 2016 the SAS Group company structure looks as follows:

Core SAS Holdings

• Scandinavian Airlines
• Cimber (100%) divested into SAS Group
• SAS Cargo Group (100%)
• SAS Ground Handling (100%)
• SAS Technical Services (100%)

SAS Individual Holdings

• Air Greenland (37.5%)

Head office

SAS Frösundavik Office Building

Former Scandinavian Airlines head office at Arlanda Airport

The SAS Group head office is currently in the SAS Frösundavik Office Building in Frösundavik, Solna Municipality, Sweden, in the Stockholm area.^[7][8]

The SAS Group head office was previously located on the grounds of the Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN) in Sigtuna Municipality, Sweden.^[9]

Before spring 2011, it was located in the SAS Frösundavik Office Building.^[10][11]

Partners and alliances

• Air Greenland is connected with an interline agreement to SAS
• Scandinavian Airlines are member of the Star Alliance.
• SAS Cargo Group is a member of the WOW Alliance
• Widerøe are well connected with SAS

List of major shareholders

Shareholder	Type of shareholder	Nationality	Ownership
The Swedish Government	Government	Sweden	21.4%
The Danish Government	Government	Denmark	14.3%
The Norwegian Government	Government	Norway	14.3%
FAM	Foundations	Sweden	7.6%
State of New Jersey Pension Fund	Pension fund	United States	2.1%
Unionen	Labour union	Sweden	1.4%
Fjärde AP-fonden (The Fourth AP Fund)	Pension fund	Sweden	1.1%
Första AP-fonden (The First AP Fund)	Pension fund	Sweden	0.9%
Six Sis AG	Financial services	Switzerland	0.9%
Andra AP-fonden (The Second AP Fund)	Pension fund	Sweden	0.8%
Other shareholders			32.8%
Source:	[12]

Presidents

• 1946 - 1948 Per A. Norlin
• 1949 - 1951 Per M. Backe
• 1951 - 1954 Per A. Norlin
• 1955 - 1957 Henning Throne-Holst
• 1958 - 1961 Åke Rusck
• 1961 - 1962 Curt Nicolin
• 1962 - 1969 Karl Nilsson
• 1969 - 1978 Knut Hagrup
• 1978 - 1981 Carl-Olov Munkberg
• 1981 - 1993 Jan Carlzon
• 1993 - 1994 Jan Reinås
• 1994 - 2001 Jan Stenberg
• 2001 - 2006 Jørgen Lindegaard
• 2007 - 2010 Mats Jansson
• 2010-2011 John S Dueholm
• 2011 - Rickard Gustafson

Financial performance

Year ended	Passengers flown[13]	Employees (Average/Year)	Net profit/loss (SEK)	Basic eps (SEK)
2010[14]	25,200,000	14,801	-2,218,000,000	-7.79
2009[15]	24,900,000	18,786	-2,947,000,000	-18.20
2008[16]	29,000,000	24,635	-6,360,000,000	-6.29
2007[16]	29,200,000	26,538	1,234,000,000	3.87
2006	38,609,000	26,554	4,936,000,000	28.10
2005	36,312,000	32,363	418,000,000	1.06
2004	32,400,000	32,481	-1,813,000,000	-11.38
2003	31,004,000	34,544	-2,221,000,000	-8.60
2002	33,254,000	35,506	-736,000,000	-0.81
2001	35,640,000	31,035	-1,140,000,000	-6.58
2000*	23,240,000	30,939	2,273,000,000	11.79
1999*	21,991,000	30,310	1,846,000,000	8.41

• Prior to 2001, the SAS Group traffic figures did not include airBaltic, Blue1, and Spanair.

Fleet

SAS Group BAe 146.

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.^[17]

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.

Destinations

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.

References

External links

• SAS Group

Wikimedia Commons has media related to SAS Scandinavian Airlines.