Summary
- SAS joined the SkyTeam alliance, which now connects the northernmost and southernmost airports in the world.
- SkyTeam alliance enables seamless connections to over a thousand destinations globally.
- Ushuaia and Svalbard airports are served by narrowbody aircraft with limited schedules.
As SAS officially became a member of the SkyTeam alliance yesterday, it is now the only one of the three major airline alliances to have members serving the northernmost and southernmost commercial airports in the world. This indicates the strength and advantages available for airlines being part of a major alliance and having access to destinations around the world via an alliance partner’s network.
New to the team
While
SAS
was originally a founding member of
Star Alliance
, the airline has had to undergo some changes in recent years, including entering Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection for operational and financial restructuring. The airline has since exited Bankruptcy Protection, partly helped by the sale of 19.9% shares to the
Air France-KLM
Group, which subsequently led to the airline leaving Star Alliance and joining
SkyTeam
yesterday.
While SkyTeam member
Aerolíneas Argentinas
already serves the southernmost commercial airport in the world, with SAS’ network becoming available to the alliance, it can now claim to serve the northernmost commercial airport in the world as well.
Photo: SkyTeam
The alliance has 25 members who work together, interconnecting networks and providing seamless connections for passengers around the world. This enables alliance members to effectively offer services to Svalbard Airport in Norway and Ushuaia Airport in Argentina.
The northernmost airport (LYR)
The northernmost airport in the world is located in Norway, named Longyearbyen Svalbard Airport (LYR), and the airport offers connections to only two destinations, both of which are to other Norwegian airports.
|
Route |
Number of airlines |
Airline(s) |
|---|---|---|
|
Svalbard (LYR) – Oslo (OSL) |
1 |
SAS |
|
Svalbard (LYR) – Tromsø (TOS) |
2 |
SAS and Norwegian |
The services on these routes are not run daily but rather operate as a certain number of flights per week, with frequencies often ranging from multiple flights on select days to no flights at all. Data from FlightRadar24.com shows that airlines serving these routes utilize the fleet of narrowbody aircraft in its fleet for all operations to and from Svalbard.
Photo: Tom Boon | Simple Flying
While SAS utilizes the Airbus A320 family aircraft, Norwegian, on the other hand, uses the Boeing 737 aircraft on these routes.
The southernmost airport (USH)
At the opposite end of the pole, there is Ushuaia Malvinas Argentinas International Airport (USH), which is served by SkyTeam’s existing member, Aerolíneas Argentinas. The airport is connected to four destinations within South America and has two airlines operating out of it.
|
Route |
Number of airlines |
Airline(s) |
|---|---|---|
|
Ushuaia (USH) – El Calafate (FTE) |
1 |
Aerolíneas Argentinas |
|
Ushuaia (USH) – Córdoba (COR) |
||
|
Ushuaia (USH) – Buenos Aires (EZE) |
||
|
Ushuaia (USH) – Buenos Aires (AEP) |
2 |
Aerolíneas Argentinas and JetSMART |
Though USH is named as an international airport, the four destinations the airport currently connects to are all within Argentina itself. As seen with Svalbard, the service frequencies are based on the number of flights per week rather than daily services, and the airlines serving these routes also exclusively utilize narrowbody aircraft.
Photo: Gonzalo Gacitua | Shutterstock
While Aerolíneas Argentinas utilizes various versions of the 737 family, JetSMART uses the A320 family aircraft for its services.
Overall, among the 25 members of the SkyTeam alliance, passengers can connect to over a thousand destinations around the world while earning miles and points when flying with member airlines, while higher tier members will have access to member and alliance lounges or priority services worldwide.