Air France-KLM and SAS to reinforce their dominance on capital city routes through new partnership
The codeshare and interline agreements signed by Air France and KLM with SAS will reinforce all three partners' market dominance in connecting the capitals of their respective markets.
SAS will introduce a codeshare and interline agreements with Air France and KLM when it joins SkyTeam
Air France and KLM signed codeshare and interline agreements with SAS, which will enter into force when SAS joins SkyTeam on 01-Sep-2024.
Through the agreements, Air France and KLM customers will gain access to 33 destinations in Northern Europe beyond SAS' hubs in Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm.
On the other hand, SAS customers will gain access to 33 destinations in Europe beyond Air France and KLM's hubs at Paris CDG and Amsterdam Schiphol.
Intercontinental destinations are to be added to the agreement "in the near future".
The new commercial partnership follows the deal agreed in Oct-2023 under which Air France-KLM is to take a 19.9% equity stake in SAS, alongside the lessor/investment firm Castlelake (32% stake), the Danish State (25.8%), and Lind Invest (8.6%).
As reported in the recent CAPA - Centre for Aviation analysis Air France-KLM and SAS to benefit from commercial partnership more than equity tie, SAS has been restructuring since 2020 and is now on a more secure footing.
Air France and KLM account for majority of market on respective routes from Amsterdam and Paris to Nordic capitals
That previous CAPA - Centre for Aviation analysis noted that while Air France-KLM's network airlines have around 2.4 times the European seat capacity offered by SAS, the SAS network in Europe is almost as big in terms of the number of airports served.
Unsurprisingly, this insight notes that Air France and KLM will account for the majority of market share on their respective routes from Amsterdam and Paris to the Nordic capitals.
CAPA - Centre for Aviation and OAG schedules data show that on five of the six routes, SAS is outright the second largest operator behind Air France or KLM.
A closer look reveals the following market share, by seats, for the week commencing 02-Sep-2024:
- Amsterdam-Copenhagen: KLM 47.2% market share, SAS 32.7%. Also operated by Norwegian and easyJet;
- Amsterdam-Oslo: KLM 60.7%, SAS 23.9%. Also operated by Norwegian;
- Amsterdam-Stockholm: KLM 60.8%, SAS 29.5%. Also operated by Norwegian;
- Paris CDG-Copenhagen: Air France 43.1%, SAS 21.2%. Also operated by Norwegian and easyJet;
- Paris CDG-Oslo: Air France 47.1%, SAS 24.8%. On this route Norwegian interchanges with SAS for the second largest seat capacity share, however its share drops by half with the start of the winter schedule. easyJet plans to commence service in winter 2024/25;
- Paris CDG-Stockholm: Air France 47.3%, SAS 35.5%. Also operated by Norwegian.