In the 20th Century, Scandinavian Airlines was just one of several airlines that was spawned after World War II. One common attribute these start-up airlines shared with Scandinavian Airlines was their steadfastness. It takes a unique person to manage an airline and make it profitable. It’s not a job for the faint-hearted. It has been observed in airlines that are successful that they have no fear of trying new, progressive and dynamic strategies. If you look at the history of Scandinavian Airlines you will see that this is a characteristic they displayed when they were the first airline in the world to deploy a route over the North Pole in 1954. The launching of this trans-polar route made Scandinavian Airlines very well known and was regarded as a real publicity coup for the airline that increased their business and profits. This report will endeavor to bring you more interesting information about Scandinavian Airlines.

The partnership of airlines in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway came as no surprise. World War II ended in 1945 and this company was launched on 1 August 1946, one year later. The era after the end of WW II heralded a new beginning for countries all around the world and, therefore, an association such as that between the airlines of these three countries would not be unexpected. Then in the middle of September, of the same year, flight operations began in earnest for Scandinavian Airlines. By the 1950s, and as a result of additional airlines joining and merging with SAS, the SAS consortium was created. After the Consortium was set up, each country had these shares: SAS Denmark (28.6%), SAS Norge (28.6%) and SAS Sverige (42.8%). Then they each split their individual share 50/50 between their respective governments and private investors. In 2004, SAS was redistributed into four separate companies in order to improve production and profitability. Sweden, along with the other two countries, Denmark and Norway, combined with SAS international, is the result of this new company design. It also includes SES global which represents the transcontinental aspect of passenger services. However, in late 2009, they once again reformed into one company, from a business entity perspective, SAS Scandinavian System AB. The separate and distinct aspects are only on paper.

To date, Scandinavian Airlines holds the reputation as a global air passenger carrier. Internationally, SAS has long-distance routes that cover destinations in North America and Asia. Copenhagen Airport, Denmark is the main European and Inter-Continental hub and the other two main hubs in Sweden are Stockholm-Arlanda Airport and Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. The international division of the airlines is known as Scandinavian Airlines International, not surprisingly, and the number of employees is a little under 1,000. This international division is independent from the operations divisions of each of the three countries – Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.

Each service area represents a different division within Scandinavian Airlines. The business model of SAS more closely resembles an alliance between the collective airlines and its financial investors. This has been the case since the beginning. But eventually, the partner airlines became merged with the overall conglomerate that is known worldwide as SAS. SAS has grown to the point where it now has almost 16,000 employees who work in the conglomerate’s three countries.