SAS CEO: 'Hopefully' 2026 will be 'the year we give up on our independence'

SAS CEO Anko van der Werff, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit World, stated (11-Dec-2025) "SAS needed to become alive, I use the word 'alive' a lot. I think every airline needs a story. It needs something you can build on. You try and build a story, and the story of SAS is that it needed restructuring". Mr van der Werff also commented on the strategic importance of 2026, stating: "Hopefully it is the year we give up on our independence. We have been looking to consolidate since the 1990s… For now, some form of stability is creeping into the world, if it continues then I think we're looking at a very decent year for SAS and one where hopefully we're part of a European group towards the end".