Scandinavian Airlines

Scandinavian Airlines, usually known as SAS, is the flag carrier of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, which together form mainland Scandinavia.

SAS is an abbreviation of its former full name, Scandinavian Airlines System or legally Scandinavian Airlines System Denmark–Norway–Sweden. Part of the SAS Group and headquartered at the SAS Frösundavik Office Building in Solna, Sweden, the airline operates 182 aircraft to 90 destinations. The airline's main hub is at Copenhagen-Kastrup Airport, with connections to over 50 cities in Europe. Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (with more than 30 European connections) and Oslo Airport, Gardermoen are the other major hubs. Minor hubs also exist at Bergen Airport, Flesland, Göteborg Landvetter Airport, Stavanger Airport, Sola, and Trondheim Airport, Værnes. SAS Cargo is an independent, wholly owned subsidiary of Scandinavian Airlines and its main office is at Copenhagen Airport.

In 2012, SAS carried 25.9 million passengers, achieving revenues of SEK 36 billion. This makes it the eighth-largest airline in Europe. The SAS fleet is composed of 182 aircraft consisting of Airbus A319, A320, A321, A330, and A340, and Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft. In addition, SAS also wetleases Airbus A320neo, ATR 72, and Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft.

The airline was founded in 1946 as a consortium to pool the transatlantic operations of Svensk Interkontinental Lufttrafik, Det Norske Luftfartselskap, and Det Danske Luftfartselskab. The consortium was extended to cover European and domestic cooperation two years later. In 1951, all the airlines were merged to create SAS.

SAS is also one of the founding members of the world's largest alliance, Star Alliance.