SAS will be joining the SkyTeam alliance on September 1.
Travelers accustomed to earning United MileagePlus miles on Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) flights, will no longer be able to do so on September 1. On that date, the MileagePlus partnership with SAS will end when the carrier leaves Star Alliance.
Also effective September 1, all Star Alliance benefits on SAS flights, such as priority boarding, priority baggage handling, and lounge access, will no longer apply. MileagePlus members have up to one year to request mileage credit from SAS flights taken on or before August 31. SAS will continue to honor United’s mileage award tickets, as long as they are issued on or before August 31, and they’re good for one year from that date in case a need for changes or reissues arises.
So why the reason for all this to-do? It’s because SAS will be joining the SkyTeam alliance on September 1. That alliance, anchored by Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM will immediately offer benefits to members of the SAS EuroBonus program, and travelers can earn and spend miles on SAS in the Air France-KLM Flying Blue program.
Both airlines, plus several other SkyTeam members, have plans to codeshare with SAS. SkyTeam members will also be able to earn and redeem miles on SAS, but the timeline for this is dependent on agreements between SAS and the individual SkyTeam member airlines.
Air France-KLM will implement codesharing on September 1. Delta Air Lines is waiting for some US government approvals but will put its code on some SAS flights from Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm once it does.
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The reason for this switch is the result of a major investment in SAS by Air France-KLM, which took a 19.9% stake in the struggling carrier. SAS filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States in mid-2022, and with the investment from Air France-KLM SAS was able to exit bankruptcy in the Spring of 2024.
SAS has struggled in recent decades as low fare airlines such as Norwegian and Ryanair have increased their presence in Scandinavia, taking a large share of flyers bound for leisure sun destinations in southern Europe. SAS itself operates something like a low fare airline within Scandinavia and Europe, offering little more than its low fare competitors in the way of onboard service. On long haul flights to Asia and North America, SAS is more of a full-service airline, offering Economy, Premium Economy, and Business Class services.
The airline industry blog CrankyFlier characterizes the alliance swap as a wise move on the part of SAS, because it will bring more value to SkyTeam’s footprint in Scandinavia, which serves more destinations than Star Alliance member Lufthansa. The blog notes that KLM already serves more smaller cities in Scandinavia, connecting them to its network at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, which will make SkyTeam a more attractive airline alliance for residents of Scandinavia, giving them more options better aligned with their flag carrier.
Founded in 1946, SAS is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The government of each country held a stake in the airline, but the Norwegian government divested all its shares in 2018 and the Swedish government has said it does not intend to remain an investor in the airline long-term. The government of Denmark owns just over 20% of the airline.
SAS is headquartered in Sweden, and operates its primary hubs in Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm, offering long haul services from each airport, in addition to significant amounts of domestic service within and between the three countries.
SAS joins the 19 other SkyTeam members, including Aerolineas Argentinas, Aeromexico, Air Europa, Air France, China Airlines, China Eastern, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Garuda Indonesia, ITA Airways, Kenya Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air, Middle East Airlines, Saudia, TAROM, Vietnam Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and XiamenAir.