In September 2024, Scandinavian Airlines, most commonly referred to as SAS, gathered staff, members of the media and partners at a venue on the outskirts of Copenhagen to mark the successful completion of one of the most momentous shifts in its decades-long history<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The Nordic carrier had not only exited a complex and life-saving restructuring process but had done so while performing one of the most radical realignments of any major airline in recent years, switching from Star Alliance to the competing SkyTeam airline alliance.\u00a0<\/p>\n And at the helm of SAS during this eventful period, was Anko van der Werff, the Dutch aviation executive who joined the Scandinavian carrier as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 2021.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n Prior to his move to Scandinavia, Van der Werff had held senior management positions at several major carriers, including CEO at Colombian carrier Avianca, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Aeromexico, and Senior Vice President of Pricing and Revenue Management at Qatar Airways as well as several regional directorships at KLM, the flag carrier of his home country.\u00a0<\/p>\n Throughout his time at these positions, van der Werff established a reputation for strategic thinking and operational excellence in challenging aviation markets, demonstrating particular skill in airline turnarounds and commercial transformations.\u00a0<\/p>\n As the first anniversary of SAS joining the SkyTeam alliance approaches, AeroTime spoke with Van der Werff about what this pivotal change has meant for the historical airline and what\u2019s in store for the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n The conversation began with the fundamental question, what is the financial situation at SAS restructuring?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAs a short answer: it is much, much better. There have clearly <\/strong>been lots of improvements. We have come out with a significant number of changes when it comes to who SAS used to be and who SAS is today, not least the fact that we have new owners,\u201d van der Werff said, referring to the change in the airline\u2019s capital structure.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The airline executive also highlighted the advantages offered by each new major investor: the business orientation of private equity firm Castlelake<\/a>, the presence of the Danish state, which anchors SAS in its Scandinavian home, and finally, Air France-KLM, which now owns 19.9% of SAS. The latter is particularly strategic for SAS since it links the carrier to one of Europe\u2019s largest airline groups at a time of growing consolidation in the industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n \u201cThis [change of ownership] sets up so many different things for the company,\u201da van der Werff explained. \u201cDifferent owners mean a different board. It means different views on how to run the business, what do we think is important\u2026and this gets reflected within the company.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Next, van der Werff went on to comment on the airline\u2019s improved performance over the last few months.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLoad factor is at an all-time high, which is good, because I think it was low. But we\u2019re getting to at least levels that I\u2019m more comfortable with. That has a very positive impact on ancillary revenues, since the more passengers we have, of course, the more we drive ancillary streams. So, yeah, there\u2019s a lot to like at the moment.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Van der Werff also referred to the rather quick switch from Star Alliance<\/a>, where it was a founding member, to SkyTeam. The swiftness of this move was praised by SkyTeam CEO Patrick Roux in a \u201cIt was a massive change for us after 27 years in Star Alliance,\u201d van der Werff said. \u201cI just have to say that it\u2019s going remarkably well. We had quite some system integration with Star Alliance. We and ended that literally overnight and it went flawlessly.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe had an hour of some boarding group issues at our hubs and that was solved within an hour and a half, which was quite amazing,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd ever since it\u2019s been going extremely well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Van der Werff stated his satisfaction about how inter-partner traffic flows, the number of tickets that airlines sell on each other\u2019s networks, are already reflecting the new relationship with Air France-KLM.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe already see very solid numbers coming out of the Air France-KLM relationship. In fact, these have now surpassed the ones we had with Lufthansa Group. So, that is also telling! And there is still a path forward and this is the opportunity to work closer together with Delta Air Lines<\/a>, Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have been very clear and outspoken about us wanting to be part of that joint venture at some point in the future.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Here, van der Werff was referring to the joint venture established between these three SkyTeam airlines to manage their transatlantic traffic together.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n As a region, Scandinavia is currently covered by these arrangements, but so far SAS is not part of them. So, the Nordic carrier is effectively competing with its partners in these markets.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Dutch executive noted that customers would benefit from SAS also being party to this joint venture.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA joint venture is really the next level of a codeshare,\u201d he explained. \u201cA codeshare is just literally that you\u2019re able to sell each other\u2019s flights but with a joint venture, you\u2019re able to coordinate on capacity. So rather than having, for instance, two flights leaving at the same time, we can talk to our competitors and say, \u2018Hey, listen, let\u2019s move one of these flights to another time slot\u2019, so with a better spread of the day of your flights, you can increase connectivity on both sides.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n He continued: \u201cWe can offer solutions that are far easier for our customers and do so in a much more unified way. Currently, we cannot do that because we\u2019re competitors.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n However, the continued growth of the transatlantic market seems far from assured. Does vander Werff think traffic numbers reflect simmering political tensions between the United States and Europe and the potential unravelling of the once close relationship between the two sides of the North Atlantic?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re starting to see things, not so much for spring and summer. That\u2019s holding up, I think, because a lot of those bookings were already in [place]. For the winter season, we see weakness. That is starting to emerge as a theme,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely impacted [the market], and [it] is not as strong as it was a few weeks and months ago.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite geopolitical tensions, which not only include the transatlantic rift, but also Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine [for example, on April 30, 2025, SAS quantified\u00a0 the number of seats lost to the Scandinavian airline market as a consequence of airspace closures to be 1.2 million seats\u2013 ed. note] and the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, van der Werff remained upbeat about the opportunities brought about by the SkyTeam membership.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe unlock a very unique part of the world. It\u2019s very high up north and some of its destinations are truly remote, but it\u2019s got a population that is eager to travel, with a high GDP per capita, high propensity to travel,\u201d he said. \u201cThese are very strong economies. That is what we bring to the table, to both SkyTeam and possibly, in the future, to a joint venture.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n However, SAS is not the only player in the Scandinavian market. Over the course of the last couple of decades, and despite having faced financial issues of its own, local low-cost airline Norwegian has emerged as a formidable competitor.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n However, van der Werff pointed out some key elements that set the two airlines apart.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a few very big differences: we\u2019ve got widebodies, we fly to the US, to Asia. We do cargo on widebodies and long-haul. Again, we\u2019re the ones reintroducing business class on European flights and on long-haul we, of course, had it already. I think there\u2019s a different composition.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the key novelties unveiled by SAS in 2025 has been the reintroduction of a proper business class on its European flights<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Until recently, SAS had a single cabin on short haul flights and offered its customers the possibility of purchasing some extra elements of service as ancillaries. But now the airline offers a new business class in a dedicated section of the cabin.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Anko](\"https:\/\/www.aerotime.aero\/images\/2025\/05\/Scandinavian-Airlines_CEO_Anko-van-der-Werff_2-1200x800.jpg\" "\\"Scandinavian")
<\/s>previous Executive Spotlight interview published on December 11, 2024<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\nRedefining the SAS product<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.aerotime.aero\/images\/2024\/09\/SAS132.jpg\" "\\"SAS132\\"")