SAS and Apollo extend partnership in record contract

SAS and Apollo are expanding their partnership regarding charter flights in a contract which covers three summer and three winter seasons through to 2024, with an option for an extension of a further two years to 2026. The partnership with Apollo represents SAS’ largest contract with a charter operator and is worth around SEK 3.4 billion over the first three years.

The contract means SAS remains the main partner for Apollo’s charter flights from Scandinavia for the duration of the contract. SAS will fly Apollo customers to and from 24 locations across Sweden, Denmark and Norway to 51 destinations around Europe. Apollo will also become SAS’ largest partner on the charter side.

“We are incredibly proud of our long-standing partnership and thrilled to have signed the new contract with Apollo. The charter partnership is a key part of our strategy to seasonally adapt our capacity and the new contract with Apollo is an acknowledgement that SAS is a highly valued business partner. As vaccinations increase in numbers, we look forward to being able to travel more freely yet again,” says Markus Ek, Vice President Global Sales at SAS.

Many of the charter flights will be flown using the brand-new Airbus A320 aircraft, with SAS’ new design both inside the cabins and outside. In recent years, SAS has renewed its fleet and replaced older aircraft with newer designs with more fuel-efficient engines, thereby also cutting its carbon dioxide emissions.

“Here at Apollo, we see a bright future and we’re convinced that travel will start to pick up again soon. It therefore feels like a very positive step forward to have signed a contract with SAS which will secure our partnership for the coming years. SAS’ focus on sustainable travel, reliable deliveries and many weekend departures means that Apollo can safely focus on doing what we do best: creating the very best holiday experiences for our customers,” says Leif Vase Larsen, CEO Northern Europe at DER Touristik Nordic AB.

SAS’ Sustainability Efforts

SAS is working hard to move to more sustainable travel and, in addition to modernising its fleet, SAS is striving to replace traditional aviation fuel with more sustainable alternatives in order to further reduce its carbon dioxide emissions. SAS has set a target of reducing its emissions by 25 percent by 2025 compared with 2005 levels.

SAS Safe Travel

Flying is a safe way to travel and, over the past year, SAS has introduced a number of measures and procedures aimed at making travel safer in various ways during the ongoing pandemic. Read more about our initiatives at SAS Safe Travel. 

In the picture from the left:

Markus Ek, VP, Global Sales, SAS
Michael Erixon, Head of Strategic Contracting, Global Sales, SAS
Henrik Johansson, Flight Purchase Manager, Apollo
Leif Vase Larsen, Nordic CEO, Apollo