August 31st represented a historic change: Scandinavian Airlines System – SAS, the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, left Star Alliance and joined Skyteam.
The departure comes just over 27 years after Star Alliance was formed and in which SAS was one of the founders, along with Lufthansa, United Airlines and Air Canada.
The move occurred after Air France-KLM became a 19.9% partner of the Scandinavian consortium, as part of the company’s restructuring process after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States.
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Despite being one of the founders of the first global airline alliance, SAS’s relationship with the other members of the alliance was quite distant, and it did not participate in the joint venture between Lufthansa, United Airlines and Air Canada in the North Atlantic market, for example.
SAS is expected to expand its flights to the North Atlantic in partnership with Air France-KLM and Delta Airlines, mainly to the cities that are Skyteam hubs.
The change of alliances and the investment by Air France-KLM in SAS are just some of the chapters in the consolidation of the main European full-service companies.
For now, only Finnair, Air Europa, TAP Air Portugal, LOT, Aegan and TAROM are not aligned in terms of ownership with one of the three major European groups: Air France-KLM, IAG (British Airways-Iberia) and Lufthansa Group.
