Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), previously known as Scandinavian Airlines System, is the national airline of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Headquartered in Sigtuna outside Stockholm, Sweden, it operates out of three main hubs, Copenhagen Airport, Stockholm-Arlanda Airport and Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. Owned by the eponymous SAS Group, the airline transported 22.9 million passengers to 90 destinations on an average 683 flights daily in 2011. As of February 2021, SAS utilize 164 aircraft—jetliners and turboprops—consisting of 64 Boeing 737, 28 Bombardier CRJ900 operated by Nordica and Cityjet, 44 Airbus A319/A320/A321, 9 Airbus A330, 8 Airbus A350 and 10 ATR 72's operated by Nordica and FlyBe. In addition there are 2 Bombardier CRJ1000 leased from Air Nostrum.
The airline has operated over 700 aircraft throughout its history. It was a loyal customer of Douglas Aircraft Company and its successor McDonnell Douglas, operating 290 aircraft and all major models from the DC-3 through the MD-90, except for the MD-11 and the MD-95 (AKA: Boeing 717-200). Boeing is the second-largest manufacturer, with 127 aircraft, of which 105 were 737s. Other manufacturers have been Fokker (51 aircraft), Bombardier (40), Airbus (29), Convair (22), Sud Aviation (21), Saab (14), Vickers (9), ATR (6), British Aerospace (3), British Aircraft Corporation (2), Junkers (2) and Shorts (2). SAS has been the launch customer of the Saab Scandia, the Sud Aviation Caravelle, the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-20 and -40 and the Boeing 737-600. SAS was the sole customer of the DC-9-20; the DC-9-40 served SAS for 34 years—longer than any other model. Fourteen aircraft have been involved in hull-loss accidents, four of which were fatal.
SAS started as a cooperation between Norwegian Air Lines (DNL), Aerotransport (ABA), Swedish Intercontinental Airlines (SILA) and Danish Air Lines (DDL), who created Overseas Scandinavian Airlines System (OSAS) in 1946 and European Scandinavian Airlines System (ESAS) two years later. The airlines merged to create the SAS consortium in 1951. In the early years, SAS would rapidly purchase the newest intercontinental aircraft and gradually relegate them to European and then domestic service. The Caravelle was introduced in 1959 as SAS' first jetliner; intercontinental jet services commenced with the Douglas DC-8 the following year. The consortium created Scanair as a charter sister company in 1961. SAS Commuter was created in 1984 to operate regional airliners. The last such aircraft were retired in 2010. SAS bought its main competitors Linjeflyg of Sweden in 1993 and Braathens of Norway in 2001; the latter was merged to operate as SAS Braathens in Norway between 2004 and 2007.
Livery
During the negotiations to create OSAS, the airlines quickly agreed that they would need a common profile and naming style. Referencing Vikings allowed the airline to play on a common history between the Scandinavian countries, while giving a global distinctive and recognizable mark. The aircraft were painted with a livery consisting of a dragon's head, iconic of the Viking longships, in combination with a cheatline which intersected with the windows such as to visualize the shields hung on the side of the longships.
After Jan Carlzon's appointment as chief executive officer in 1981, he introduced a "new corporate identity" for the airline. In addition to a change of operating policy, it gave the airline a new graphical identity and livery. Carlzon was especially opposed to the Viking markings, as he believed people did not understand the dragon head reference and otherwise associated Vikings with pillage and rape. Early proposals called for green aircraft—considered neutral in relation to the Scandinavian national colors. The re-branding job was then issued to Landor Associates, who initially proposed the "Royal Scandinavian" brand with an oriental design, but this was discarded. The roll-out of the "Carlzon livery" took place on 12 April 1983 saw a white body with slanted vertical stripes in the Scandinavian flags' colors.
SAS' current livery was first presented in September 1998 with the introduction of the Boeing 737 Next Generation. Part of a company-wide new identity, SAS 2000+, the aircraft were given a white body, "Scandinavian" was replaced with "Scandinavian Airlines", the vertical stabilizer was painted blue and the engines red. The three national flags with crowns were replaced with matrix representing the Scandinavian flags. Operations in Norway were branded SAS Braathens between 2004 and 2007, receiving a distinct livery based on the main SAS scheme.