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SAS has been an official member of SkyTeam for just 20 days and we’re already seeing the airline taking significant steps to align some of its routes with the networks that other SkyTeam members operate.
When it comes to its US routes, it looks like SAS is keen to feed traffic to SkyTeam’s biggest North American Airline (Delta) as a recent set of schedule updates have seen the Scandinavian carrier bring back two routes that it hasn’t operated for years, and both routes are to key Delta hubs.
The returning routes
Oslo – New York (JFK)
How many years does a route have to be inactive for before it can be called a ‘new route’ again?
I ask because the last time SAS operated between Oslo and JFK was April 1989 (HT: Aeroroutes), so when this route returns on 30 March 2025, it will have been suspended for almost 36 years. That more years that a lot of people reading this will have been alive.
This is what the route’s planned schedule currently looks like and as far as we know, it will only operate for the summer season:
SK923 OSL 13:25 – 15:40 JFK (Daily)
SK924 JFK 17:10 – 07:00+1 day OSL (Daily)
The route will be operated by an A321neoLR aircraft which SAS has configured with 3 cabins.
SAS Business Class featuring 22 Thompson Aero Vantage seats set out in an alternating 2-2/1-1 layout (similar to the layout and seats found on the Aer Lingus A321neoLR) which offer 20.5″ of width and which can convert into a lie-flat bed that’s 73″ long.
SAS Plus (Premium Economy) featuring 12 Collins Aerospace MiQ seats (similar in some ways to the First Class seats found on some American Airlines A321 aircraft) arranged in a 2-2 layout which offer 20″ of width and 38″ of pitch (leg room).
SAS Go (Economy Class) with 123 seats set out in a 3-3 layout offering a little over 17.5″ of width and just 30″ of pitch.
Overall, this an aircraft with an Economy Class cabin to avoid and a Premium Economy cabin that sounds impressive.
30″ of pitch on a transatlantic flight should have been banned under the Geneva Conventions years ago, so this is a cabin I would never fly in unless I could guarantee myself an exit row seat where amount of leg room on offer would be greater.
By contrast, by offering seats with 20″ of width and 38″ of pitch in the Premium Economy cabin, this narrow-body aircraft offers Premium Economy passengers more personal space than almost all wide-body aircraft that fly across the Atlantic, so as long as prices aren’t ridiculous, this looks like it could be the sweet spot cabin on this route.
Copenhagen – Seattle
The Copenhagen – Seattle route is another one that SAS hasn’t operated for a significant amount of time, but it hasn’t been dormant for as long as the Oslo – JFK route.
SAS last flew between Copenhagen and Seattle in July 2009 and now, in what appears to be a concerted effort to turn Copenhagen into a major hub*, it plans to bring this route back from 21 May 2025.
This is what the route’s planned schedule currently looks like:
SK937 CPH 13:05 – 14:00 SEA (Mon & Thu – Sun)
SK938 SEA 16:20 – 11:00+1 CPH (Mon & Thu – Sun)
Between 21 May and 25 June 2025, the route will be operated by an Airbus A350-900, and from 26 June 2025, an Airbus A330-300 will take over.
Here’s what you need to know about the 3-cabin SAS A330-300:
The Business Class cabin is equipped with 32 all-aisle-access Thompson Aero Vantage XL seats similar to those found on select Delta A350s and on the Qantas A380s and 787s (Qantas 787 Business Class cabin review). These seats are 22″ wide and can be converted into a lie-flat bed measuring 78″ in length.
The Premium Economy cabin (SAS Plus) offers the same Collins Aerospace MiQ seats as found on the airline’s A321neoLR only in this cabin there’s 56 of them and they’re set out in a 2-3-2 layout.
In Economy Class (SAS Go), there are 178 seats in a 2-4-2 layout offering a little over 17″ of width and 31″ of pitch (leg room).
As long-haul cabins go, the Business Class and Premium Economy cabins look pretty good while the Economy Class cabin is just a standard transatlantic cabin (aleit one that may appeal a bit more to couples traveling together thanks to the pairs of seats on either side of the aircraft).
*SAS has scheduled the return of at least ten European routes to Copenhagen, and some of these routes haven’t operated since 2014.
Bottom line
Based on recent schedule updates, it looks like SAS will be restarting a route to JFK that it hasn’t operated since the Sony Discman was considered the height of technology and it’s bringing back a route between Copenhagen and Seattle that hasn’t been around since Sully used the Hudson as a makeshift runway and the iPhone 3GS was launched.
Both routes will be operated by aircraft that offer good premium cabins, so as long as award availability isn’t highly restricted and surcharges aren’t embarrassingly high, these may turn out to be good routes on which to burn some miles.
