Flying Blue or Feeling Blue? What SAS Loyalists Should Brace For

Earlier this week, Air France-KLM announced its intention to acquire a majority stake in Scandinavian Airlines (SAS). While the move still needs to pass through all the regulatory hurdles, the acquisition would solidify the combined group as the third prominent European airline conglomerate, alongside the Lufthansa Group and International Airlines Group (IAG).

Photo: Courtesy of Air France

While operational integration and financial implications are currently at the forefront of the acquisition talks, one big piece to the new puzzle will also be the loyalty synergies between SAS and its new sister airlines. Details on this front are scarce to this point, but analyzing the group’s European competitors may give us a sense of what is to come.

Is Flying Blue expansion on the horizon?

SAS was one of the five founding members of Star Alliance back in 1997, but when financial struggles came to a head in late 2023, the airline was left with no choice but to pivot its partnership loyalties.

As part of SAS’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring in October of that year, Air France-KLM obtained its initial 19.9 percent minority stake in the airline, resulting in the Scandinavian carrier being ushered out of the alliance they once founded and officially into its once-rivaled SkyTeam alliance in September 2024.

Photo: Courtesy of Air France

While SAS has been integrated within the SkyTeam alliance for almost a year now, a majority stake by Air France-KLM would surely indicate further loyalty integration that goes beyond the standard codeshare agreements and surface-level loyalty synergies that exist between airlines that are members of the same alliance.

What might this expanded integration look like? Look no further than the two other European airline conglomerates that Air France-KLM are competing with: member airlines of the Lufthansa Group (including the likes of Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and SWISS) have all adopted the Miles & More loyalty program, while IAG member airlines (including British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus) all utilize the Avios program.

Photo: Courtesy of Lufthansa

If these two groups are any precedent, then it would be reasonable to expect that SAS would eventually join Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue program should the acquisition receive regulatory approval.

Air France-KLM all but hinted at this idea in their announcement, saying, “This new step would allow both groups to unlock their synergy potential via a comprehensive integration in all areas of business, including loyalty, and would extend beyond commercial activities.”

What would Flying Blue integration look like?

Over the years, Flying Blue has become one of the most popular frequent flyer programs not only in the European market, but across the globe as well. Air France and KLM’s expansive flight networks allow for easy access to Europe from all corners of the world, and the program’s lineup of credit card issuer partnerships makes points and miles transfers to the program widely accessible, especially for U.S.-based travelers. It’s a fun exercise to theorize what the program may look like with a multi-national carrier such as SAS in the fold as well.

Photo: Courtesy of Air France

Flying Blue is one of many loyalty programs that prices its redemptions dynamically, meaning mileage prices for flights fluctuate over time and tend to rise during times of high demand. However, the program also has an established floor for its lowest saver award fare class, meaning travelers can expect a specified mileage price should that saver space become available. As it stands today, those saver award prices offer some of the best redemption values on the market between North America and Europe, especially in business class:

• One-way in Economy from 25,000 miles
• One-way in Premium Economy from 40,000 miles
• One-way in Business Class from 60,000 miles

On top of these already low prices, Flying Blue runs monthly Promo Rewards that offer discounted pricing off of these lowest saver fares to and from specified cities that shuffle at the beginning of every month.

Promo Rewards typically offer an additional 25 percent off of saver pricing, meaning one-way flights between North America and Europe can be had for as little as 18,750 miles in Economy, 30,000 miles in Premium Economy, or 45,000 miles in Business Class.

Given that Air France and KLM each operate a single hub out of their respective capitals, Paris (CDG) and Amsterdam (AMS), any flight itinerary that takes advantage of these low prices would need to be routed through one of these two cities.

With SAS on board, the list of European entry points could be expanded. Can we expect similar saver space availability and promo pricing on SAS through their Scandinavian hubs of Copenhagen (CPH), Stockholm (ARN), or Oslo (OSL)?

Not only would this open up additional destinations at these low prices, but it would also create more seamless gateways to destinations that lie beyond these hub cities, particularly in markets that Air France or KLM don’t currently serve themselves. Not to mention, having to connect through two of Europe’s busiest airports, in CDG or AMS, isn’t always a welcome experience for weary long-haul passengers. Having smaller, less busy airports to connect through may bring some additional peace of mind for travelers as well.

Photo: SAS, Airbus A321LR. Courtesy of SAS / Andy Prhat

Aside from just redemption opportunities, current loyalists of any of the three airlines stand to see their benefits expanded across another airline (or two), including better mileage earning opportunities and a streamlined customer service experience.

A successful acquisition may also see SAS becoming integrated into the transatlantic joint venture that Air France and KLM currently have with U.S.-based Delta Air Lines and U.K.-based Virgin Atlantic. Since its inception in 2020, the venture has offered customers a greater choice of routes and more convenient flight schedules that already include over 300 daily flights between a multitude of cities across Europe and North America. Bringing in SAS’s transatlantic route network into the fold would only mean more routes and frequencies for customers across all of these airlines to choose from and enjoy.

Only time will tell how things shake out in the long run, but assuming there are no hiccups on the acquisition’s approval, frequent flyers could soon see some exciting new opportunities from what is already a fan favorite loyalty program.