Scandinavian carrier SAS will reintroduce a business-class product on its European short-haul fleet as it seeks alignment with its new SkyTeam partners. SAS CCO Paul Verhagen made the announcement during a panel discussion on 17 September at an event to mark the airline joining the alliance at the beginning of the month. “Come summer 2025 we will be reintroducing a European business class,” Verhagen states, clarifying that the product will be offered on all European short-haul flights, including intra-Scandinavia services. “As you start to align with your new friends and as you have more and more connecting passengers on to your growing intercontinental network… we have to align more and more also our cabin configuration,” he says. Verhagen describes SAS’s current short-haul cabin configuration as featuring an economy offering – known as SAS Go – and a premium offering – known as SAS Plus – “which is definitely not an economy cabin but in all honesty cannot be called a classical business cabin either”. That latter product will be dropped on the European short-haul network, he explains. “Where today you have the Plus cabin, we will have a cabin that is separated by a divider where the middle seat is blocked, guaranteed, where the catering, where the food and beverage offering is up from where it is today, and of course all the ground services that come with that,” Verhagen says. Those ground services will include fast-track security, lounge access and priority boarding, he states.<br/>
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To meet the growing demand for travel to the U.S., SAS is introducing a route to Seattle, offering five weekly direct flights from Copenhagen as part of its summer 2025 schedule. This marks a milestone, as SAS resumes service between the two cities 57 years after its inaugural flight. With Seattle added to the network, SAS will offer nonstop flights to 11 North American gateways, further enhancing its global connectivity from Copenhagen Airport, serving as a key international gateway to and from Scandinavia and Northern Europe. "We are excited to expand our North American network with Seattle. The route from Copenhagen will provide more travel options for our customers and strengthen the connection between Scandinavia and the Pacific Northwest, a region of growing economic importance with deep Scandinavian roots”, says Anko van der Werff, President & CEO of SAS. Seattle is one of the wealthiest cities in the U.S. and has maintained deep and proud connections with Scandinavia dating back to the early 1900s. These ties have been shaped by waves of Nordic immigrants who brought their culture, skills, and entrepreneurial spirit to the region, leaving a lasting impact on the city’s identity and economy.<br/>