Scandinavian’s ageless view of service
Edward RobertsonScandinavian Airlines believes maintaining a focus on quality rather than price pays dividends for its 70-year-old brand
For the past few years when talk has turned to Scandinavian airlines, it has invariably focused on Norwegian and its explosive growth. However, the low-cost carrier (LCC) is just one of many airlines in a busy market and while it might have stolen recent headlines, others have continued to go about their business with less fanfare.
One such airline is Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), which celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2016 and is continuing its strategy largely unabated by the operations of the noisier new kid on the block.
SAS CCO Eivind Roald says while the airline keeps an eye on what its rival is doing, it has worked hard to ensure there are enough points of difference between the two brands to allow it to compete on its own terms.
In particular, it has been keen to avoid the practices of some other legacy airlines that have ditched key parts of their offering, for instance British Airways’ recent decision to do away with its free short-haul catering service. Instead Roald believes it is important to have enough confidence in your own product and back it accordingly.
He says: “Norwegian is primarily focused on the leisure traffic. We are focused on being the first choice for all travellers who travel at least five times per year, independent of the purpose of travel.
The extra mile
However, Roald is not complacent and recognises the benefits of such competition, adding: “I like to have Ryanair and Norwegian next to us as it is the best way to build. To have rough and tough competitors means you need to develop. You need to go the extra mile to compete.”
Roald says one place the airline is not going the extra mile currently is route expansion. It is currently awaiting delivery of the first of its eight Airbus A350s in 2019 before operating new itineraries.
However, he adds: “Realistically we see the expansion in long haul. When we are designing the network we put the tickets on the market almost a year before we start the flying. We are planning, we are working on it and we are looking into new destinations going forward.”
Roald says China, Iran, Pakistan and India are all eastbound destinations of interest while Canada and the US east coast are also on the radar.
In the short-haul market SAS is shifting much of its capacity from Turkey or Egypt, where the security situation has put tourists off travelling, to Spain. However, he adds this was largely a matter or increasing frequencies as opposed to launching new routes.
This is not to say SAS will not see its regional Scandinavian and European programme grow, but if it does it will be thanks to the efforts of partner feeder airlines like Flybe and CityJet. Roald believes both of these are far better placed to undertake such operations than SAS on thinner routes.
“Those airlines are specialists in running smaller aircraft,” Roald says. “They don’t have the 70 years of legacy that we have so they are much more lean and mean.”
That may be true but it doesn’t mean SAS is bloated by comparison. Indeed with Roald paying such close attention to the offering, it seems the 70-year-old airline is well placed to survive and thrive in an increasingly competitive future.
Heathrow and Spain become core
Up to nine Airbus A320neos will be stationed at two new Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) bases being created in Heathrow and Spain.
SAS CCO Eivind Roald says the new bases will be covered by a new air operator certificate (AOC) which is being applied for in Ireland.
It is hoped the new operations will be up and running by winter with London Heathrow currently expected to commence operations in November.
Roald says: “We are the fourth largest airline at Heathrow; we have been around there for so many years.”
The routes will be served by the A320neos, 30 of which are currently under order, with 4 already delivered. Once they have joined the fleet they will all be facing north-east with routes to various Scandinavian destinations.
Roald says the main reason behind the decision to open the Heathrow base is that lower taxation means staff are typically about 30-40% cheaper to employ. The savings then should drive further
route development.
These savings will be further compounded by the arrival of the aircraft, which boast about 20% lower fuel consumption per seat than a standard A320 thanks to a combination of better engines and more passengers per aircraft.
Roald says: “If you are able to make your European route structure even more profitable you will be able to grow as a company because it will be even easier for the board to say yes [to expansion] and put in orders for more long-haul [aircraft].”
While the location of the Spanish base remains a secret at the moment, SAS said in a statement that, just as in London, the aircraft will have the same customer offering and appearance as other SAS airline operations.
SAS president and CEO Rickard Gustafson also says the new bases have also been launched to counter the price pressure and rising demand for leisure travel in Europe.
He adds that reduced staff costs will help “secure the long term profitability of key traffic flows” although he admits the creation of the two bases and the AOC will incur “smaller start-up costs”.
Gustafson says: “In line with SAS’s strategy of focusing on those customers who travel frequently to, from and within Scandinavia, the majority of SAS’s airline operations will continue to be based in Scandinavia moving forward.
“The establishment of new bases means we can complement our Scandinavian production and, in time, build an even broader network with a superior schedule to the benefit of our customers.”
Sign up for weekday travel news and analysis straight to your inbox
Recommended For You
Latest travel jobs
Senior Sales Consultant
Branch Manager
Sales & Marketing Manager - UK, Ireland, Scandinavia & North America
Competitions
TTG Luxury Journey
Place of registration: England and Wales.
Company number 08723341.
Registered address: 6th Floor, 2 London Wall Place, London EC2Y 5AU
