The shake-up continues at Scandinavian Airlines after its official entry into the SkyTeam alliance.
SAS announced a major expansion of its Copenhagen hub with two new North American routes, a day after the Stockholm-based carrier announced new nonstop service to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).
On Wednesday, SAS unveiled 15 new routes from its Copenhagen Airport (CPH) base, including more than a dozen new flights to European cities such as Krakow, Poland; Madrid; Budapest, Hungary; Valencia, Spain; and Bucharest, Romania. Also, it is increasing its service to additional short-haul European cities such as Prague, Berlin and Helsinki by 15%.
It’s just part of a plan to boost Copenhagen’s presence as a global hub and gateway for travelers connecting to destinations outside Europe, SAS said on Wednesday.
But the carrier is also boosting its transatlantic schedule – and not just in Copenhagen.
The airline said on Wednesday that it will fly from Norway’s Oslo Airport (OSL) to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) will begin new service. The nonstop service will run between March 30 and October 25 as part of the carrier’s summer 2025 schedule.
SkyTeam Hub Shift
This is the latest move by SAS to make its network – including the US – friendlier The SkyTeam connections come after the carrier joined the alliance earlier this month following a partial acquisition by Air France-KLM.
You can already see the shift. The map below from aviation analytics firm Sirius shows SAS’ planned summer 2025 US routes to the hubs of SkyTeam partner Delta Air Lines.
Here’s what a comparatively more limited map looked like in the summer of 2024 — a year that already saw the carrier add Delta’s home, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), to its network.
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It’s worth seeing if the carrier makes any additional shifts from Star Alliance hubs to SkyTeam hubs in the near future.
“With the recent entry into SkyTeam, SAS is focusing on global reach and will continue to develop Copenhagen as its main hub for international travel,” SAS said in a statement on Wednesday.
New JFK service
The new JFK-to-OSL route will give the New York airport another nonstop in Norway’s capital city. Norse Atlantic Airways currently flies the route.
Starting in late March, SAS will fly the JFK-to-Oslo route with one of its narrow-body Airbus A321neo jets, according to the carrier’s booking channels.
It’s worth noting that SAS already serves JFK with nonstop flights to CPH.
Meanwhile, it currently serves nearby Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Star Alliance Hub, OSL, CPH and Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN) with nonstop flights.
Copenhagen Growth
In addition to its JFK nonstop service, SAS announced an additional new North American flight for summer 2025. Starting March 30, the carrier will fly from CPH to Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ).
This extensive scaling of SAS’ footprint in Copenhagen – and more broadly, in the country of Denmark – has seen an increase in air traffic of late.
Denmark’s service is growing
In August, Denmark had more seats on transatlantic flights than any other country in Europe, Sirius reported during a recent briefing.
Meetings between the US and Denmark this summer were up nearly 24% from a year ago — and up 15% from 2019 levels, Sirius data shows.
Related: Villa Copenhagen review: Scandinavian style in a Danish landmark
Improve intra-Europe business offerings
SAS is on top of promoting its flight offerings next summer Reportedly planning to up his game At the front of the plane.
On short-haul European flights, there will be an improved business-class offering featuring an empty middle seat, plus enhanced service both on the ground and in the air.
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