SAS Group

SAS AB

Type	Public company (OSE: SAS) (OMX: SAS0SAS DKK)
Founded	1946, merger of ABA (1924), DDL (1918) and DNL (1927)
Headquarters	Stockholm, Sweden
Area served	Europe, China, Japan, Thailand, UAE & USA
Key people	Mats Jansson (CEO) Fritz H. Schur (Chairman)
Industry	Transport
Products	Air transportation and cargo
Revenue	▲ 53.195 Billion SEK (2008)
Operating income	▼ -765 Billion SEK (2008)
Net income	▼ -6.321 million SEK (2008)
Total assets	▼ 43.364 Billion SEK (2008)
Total equity	▼ 8.682 Billion SEK (2008)
Employees	24,635 (2008)
Website	SAS Group

SAS Group, formerly Scandinavian Airlines System, is a company based in Stockholm, Sweden. The company is owned by SAS Danmark A/S, SAS Norge AS and SAS Sverige AB, who in turn are fully owned by holding company SAS Aktiebolag, or SAS AB for short.

SAS AB (OSE: SAS, OMX: SAS, SAS DKK) is owned for 50% by the Scandinavian governments (Sweden (21.4%), Norway through the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry (14.3%) and through the Ministry of Finance of Denmark (14.3%) and the remaining 50% of the shares are publicly held and traded on the stock markets at Stockholm Stock Exchange, Copenhagen Stock Exchange and Oslo Stock Exchange, the two former which are subsidiaries of the NASDAQ OMX Group. The only major private owner is FAM (7.4%).

The SAS Group owns several airlines in Europe.

SAS Group

SAS Group is the main operational company in the SAS consortium. From April 2009 the SAS Group company structure look as follow;

Core SAS

• Scandinavian Airlines (SAS Airline and Ground Services are included) (100%)
• Widerøe (100%)
• Blue1 (100%)
• SAS Cargo Group (100%)
• SAS Technical Services (100%)

Affiliated Companies

• Air Greenland (37.5%) Stake to be divested
• Estonian Air (49%) Stake to be divested
• Skyways Express (25%) Stake to be divested
• Spanair (19,9%)

Partners and alliances

• Scandinavian Airlines, bmi, Blue1 and Spanair are members of the Star Alliance.
• SAS Cargo Group is a member of the WOW Alliance
• Widerøe, Skyways Express, Blue1 and Estonian Air 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	7.4%
Unionen	Labour union	Sweden	1.8%
SEB Fonder	Mutual fund	Sweden	1.7%
Första AP-fonden	Pension fund	Sweden	1.6%
Danmarks Nationalbank	Bank	Denmark	1.4%
Goldman Sachs International	Investment bank	United States	1.3%
Andra AP-fonden	Pension fund	Sweden	1.3%
Nordea fonder	Mutual fund	Sweden	1.0%

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.

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 Stockholm - 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 scheduled services.
• 1955 SILA (which owned 50% of ABA) was quoted on the "Stockbrokers' List" in Sweden.
• 1957 SAS is the first airline to offer "round the world service over the North Pole." North Pole Shortcut Copenhagen - Anchorage - Tokyo.
• 1959 SAS enters the jet age. The first jet aircraft, Caravelle, in service.
• 1960 SAS opens its first hotel, the SAS Royal Hotel Copenhagen. SAS helped set up Thai Airways International, taking a 30% share in the joint venture.
• 1965 SAS is first 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 sold its remaining stakes in Thai
• 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 the most punctual airline in Europe for the first time.
• 1984 SAS receives Air Transport World's distinction "Airline of the Year" for 1983.
• 1986 Spanair is founded.
• 1987 Co-founder of Amadeus Computerised Reservation System (also known as GDS).
• 1989 SAS International Hotels owns 40% of Intercontinental Hotels Group. This stake sold in 1992.
• 1994 Focus on airline operations in the SAS Group - sale of a number subsidiaries, among with the franchise of Diners Club Nordic.
• 1996 SAS celebrates its 50th anniversary on August 1. Harmonization and name change of SAS parent company to SAS Danmark A/S, SAS Norge ASA and SAS Sverige AB.
• 1997 SAS is one of the founders 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 signed a master franchise agreement with Carlson Hotels Worldwide.

Radisson SAS no longer managed by SAS

• 2003 Acquisition of 49% of the shares in Estonian Air.
• 2004 Incorporation of Scandinavian Airlines Sverige, SAS Braathens and Scandinavian Airlines Danmark.
• 2006 SAS sold its remaining shares in the Hotel chain, Rezidor Hotel Group.
• 2007 New CEO and President Mats Jansson, SAS sold SAS Flight Academy.

SAS Group 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 - Mats Jansson

Financial performance

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

Fleet

The SAS Group fleet consists of the following aircraft as of September 2009: (290 aircraft)

Type	Picture	SAS	Spanair	Blue1	Wideroe	AirBaltic	Total
Airbus A319-100		4					4
Airbus A320-200			16				16
Airbus A321-200		8	5				13
Airbus A330-300		4					4
Airbus A340-300		7					7
Avro RJ85/100				6			6
Boeing 737-300						4 (+ 4 on order from other airlines)	4
Boeing 737-400		4					4
Boeing 737-500		13				10	22
Boeing 737-600		27					27
Boeing 737-700		17					17
Boeing 737-800		16					16
Boeing 757-200ER						2	2
Bombardier CRJ900		10					12 ordered total
deHavilland dash 100					17		17
deHavilland dash 300					10		10
deHavilland Q400NextGen					2 (4 on order)	(8 on order)	(14 on order)
Fokker 50		6				8	14
McDonnell Douglas MD-81		2					5
McDonnell Douglas MD-82/83		34	27				58
McDonnell Douglas MD-87		6	8				20
McDonnell Douglas MD-90				5			5
Total		173	57	12	30	24	295

SAS Museum

The exhibits at the SAS Museum at Oslo Airport, Gardermoen 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 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 historic societies.

Destinations

References

External links

• SAS Group

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