The move could see Lufthansa take a stake in SAS as it looks to expand its low-cost Eurowings business, according to news agency Reuters.
A full takeover of SAS remains unlikely.
"Lufthansa wants to build Eurowings, but it does not want to take on any restructuring risk," a source told Reuters.
Like other legacy carriers, Lufthansa has faced considerable challenges in recent years, particularly from younger low-cost airlines. In a bid to overcome some of these it revived Eurowings in February 2015.
