Air TransportAir France-KLM plans to triple stake in carrier SAS
SAS Scandinavian Airlines is expected to have the majority of its shares in the hands of the Air France-KLM Group from the second half of 2026.
The Franco-Dutch company revealed on Friday plans to acquire shares from Castlelake and Lind Invest to increase its stake from 19.9% to 60.5%, thus becoming the airline’s main shareholder.
“Air France–KLM becoming the majority owner would mark a defining moment for SAS and a strong signal of confidence in the direction we’re heading,” says Anko van der Werff, President & CEO of SAS.
Air France-KLM’s move has been expected since the company became part of the consortium that took over SAS upon its emergence from Chapter 11 last year.
The air travel market in Europe is undergoing a long process of consolidation, with the formation of large airline groups.
Earlier this year, Lufthansa brought ITA Airways into its group after acquiring a smaller stake from the Italian government, but plans also include taking control of the airline that replaced Alitalia.
The next disputes on the table are a stake in leisure carrier Air Europa and the auction for TAP Air Portugal, currently a state-owned company.
Fleet renewal
For SAS, greater integration with Air France-KLM should bring benefits to its flight network based on the Copenhagen hub.
The airline left Star Alliance to become a member of Skyteam and signed a code-share agreement with Delta Air Lines, a US airline that is very close to the Franco-Dutch group.
A few days ago, SAS announced a surprising acquisition of up to 55 Embraer E195-E2 jets that will be delivered between 2027 and 2031 and will operate a large part of the airline’s flights within Europe.
About the Author
Ricardo Meier
Creator of the website that started in 1996 as a magazine. He also writes on Brazilian websites AUTOO, MOTOO and MetrôCPTM.
