Government chose SAS for foreign travel

SAS has been selected as the Swedish government’s single largest supplier for destinations in North America and Europe (including London and Paris). In most cases, SAS was also selected as supplier in both business and economy class. “This is positive news for us,” says Håkan Olsson, responsible for the bidding from SAS and its partners in Sweden. “Particularly considering the competition that exists in the market.” Last summer, the government conducted a similar procurement process for domestic routes and selected SAS as the supplier on 61 of 63 routes. In recent days, the procurement of framework agreements for foreign travel to European destinations and intercontinental connections from Stockholm and a number of other Swedish locations has been finalized. Despite intense competition, SAS won the procurement process on a large number of routes. “An important explanation for our success is that we, as a hub-and-spoke airline and in cooperation with our partners, have excellent domestic and international connections for Swedish authorities, regardless of where they are located in Sweden,” says Håkan Olsson. “Many departures and close cooperation with other Star Alliance airlines also generates major competitive advantages. “We regret that the government did not choose SAS for Brussels. However, we do not believe that it is possible to fly profitably and offer a sustainable product at the level to which the hyper-competition pressed the prices in the bidding process,” Håkan Olsson adds. For further information, please contact: Håkan Olsson, Northern District, Tel: +46 (0)70-997 1525 Ulrika Fager, Communications Dept, Scandinavian Airlines Sweden, Tel +46 (0)8-797 33 30 ________________________________________________________________________ Brief facts about Scandinavian Airlines Sweden, a subsidiary of the SAS Group: Annual passengers: Approx. 6 million Fleet: 44 Employees: Approx. 3,000 Take-offs/landings: Approx. 300 daily Destinations: Approx. 40 from and within Sweden Scandinavian Airlines is now the airline that sells most low-price tickets in Sweden.