Predecessors and unification The SAS Group has its origins in 1918 with the founding of AB Aerotransport (ABA), the
Swedish parent company of SAS. In 1920, Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S (DDL), the Danish parent company, was established. DDL was listed on the
Copenhagen Stock Exchange in 1924. In 1927, Det Norske Luftfartselskap A/S (DNL), the
Norwegian parent company, was founded. In 1946, SAS was formed from Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S (DDL), Det Norske Luftfartselskap A/S (DNL), and Svensk Interkontinental Lufttrafik AB (SILA). The first intercontinental flight was from
Stockholm Arlanda to
New York. In 1951, DDL, DNL, and ABA formed the present SAS Consortium.
Early years In 1954, SAS became the first airline to fly the
Copenhagen -
Los Angeles polar route in regular scheduled service. In 1957, SAS was the first airline to offer "round the world service over the
North Pole" from
Copenhagen to
Tokyo via
Anchorage. The airline entered the jet age in 1959 with the introduction of the
Caravelle aircraft. In 1960, SAS opened its first hotel, the SAS Royal Hotel Copenhagen, and helped establish
Thai Airways International, taking a 30% share in the joint venture. In 1965, SAS was the first airline to introduce an electronic reservation system. In 1967, DNL was listed on the
Oslo Stock Exchange. In 1971, SAS put its first
Boeing 747 jumbo jet into service. In 1977, SAS sold its remaining stakes in Thai Airways. In 1980, SAS opened its first hotel outside of
Scandinavia, the SAS
Kuwait Hotel. SILA was listed on the
Stockholm Stock Exchange. In 1981, SAS EuroClass was introduced on all
European routes. The following year, SAS was named the most punctual
airline in
Europe for the first time. In 1984, SAS received the Air Transport World's distinction "Airline of the Year" for 1983.
Expansion and refocusing In 1986,
Spanair was founded by SAS Group. In 1987, SAS cofounded the
Amadeus Computerised Reservation System (also known as
GDS). In 1989, SAS International Hotels owned 40% of Intercontinental Hotels Group, a stake that was sold in 1992. In 1994, SAS began to refocus on airline operations in the SAS Group, selling a number of subsidiaries along with the
franchise of
Diners Club Nordic. The company celebrated its 50th anniversary on 1 August 1996, and the SAS parent company changed its name to SAS Danmark A/S, SAS Norge ASA, and SAS Sverige AB. In 1997, SAS became one of the founding members of
Star Alliance. In 1998,
Air Botnia (
Blue1) became a wholly owned subsidiary of the SAS Group. In 1999, the SAS Group became a majority owner of
Widerøe.
21st century In 2001, a single SAS share was established, as SAS AB. On July 6, SAS was listed on the stock exchanges in Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Oslo. In December, Braathens was acquired by the SAS Group. In 2002, Rezidor SAS Hospitality signed a master franchise agreement with Carlson Hotels Worldwide; the agreement came to an end in 2009. In 2003, SAS acquired 49% of the shares in
Estonian Air. In 2004, Scandinavian Airlines Sverige, SAS Braathens, and Scandinavian Airlines Danmark were incorporated. In 2006, SAS sold its remaining shares in the
Rezidor Hotel Group chain. In 2007, CEO and President Mats Jansson was inaugurated; SAS sold the
SAS Flight Academy. In 2010, CEO Jansson departed his position and was replaced by John S. Dueholm on an interim basis. Rickard Gustafson became the new permanent CEO in 2011. In January 2012, Spanair collapsed, leading to write-downs of 1.7 billion kronor by SAS. In 2013, SAS sold 80% of the shares in
Widerøe. In 2014, SAS sold the cleaning part of SAS Ground Handling to Sodexo. In 2015, SAS sold SAS Ground Handling in 14 airports in Norway to Widerøe Ground Handling and sold Blue1 to CityJet. In November 2015, Estonian Air collapsed, resulting in SAS losing 2.5% of the shares. In 2016, SAS sold its remaining 20% stake in Widerøe. Norway's government sold its final 9.88% stake in SAS Group in June 2018.
Impact of COVID-19 and restructuring In 2020, SAS halted most of its traffic from March 16 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. This decision led to the temporary layoff of 90% of the group's staff as travel demand plummeted globally. In July 2022, SAS filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States as part of a restructuring effort to address its financial difficulties. As part of the restructuring plan, SAS secured new investments and underwent significant ownership changes. US investment firm Castlelake acquired a 32% stake in the reorganised airline, while
Air France-KLM obtained around 20%. The Danish state obtained a 26% share, and Danish investor Lind Invest acquired 8.6%. The remaining equity was expected to be distributed among SAS's creditors. On 4 July 2025, Air France-KLM announced its intention to increase its stake in SAS’s share capital from 19.9% to 60.5%, taking over Castlelake and Lind Invest's stakes in the company. Pending approval from competition authorities, Air France-KLM expect SAS to become a subsidiary in Air France-KLM Group, where the Danish Ministry of Finance will retain its minority stake of approximately 26% in the subsidiary. This move was not unexpected as already in 2023, Air France-KLM announced the ambition to become a controlling stakeholder after a minimum of 2 years. ==Operations==