This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.
Scandinavia’s SAS has revealed that it will leave the Star Alliance on August 31st. The airline has revealed that it is in advanced negotiations with SkyTeam and its members, suggesting that it may not instantly become a member. However, the airline did reveal that its EuroBonus members should be able to start claiming frequent flyer benefits with most SkyTeam carriers from September 1st.
SAS was one of the founding members of the Star Alliance. Unfortunately, the carrier was in tricky financial waters during the COVID-19 pandemic, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Air France-KLM rescued it, but seeing as both Air France and KLM are in SkyTeam, they will want their new acquisition to follow suit in its alliance membership.
Benefits will remain until August 31st
In an announcement today, SAS revealed that eligible EuroBonus members will continue to enjoy the current Star Alliance Silver and Star Alliance Gold benefits they currently do up to and including August 31st. However, these will cease to exist from September 1st. While this will disappoint some members, it might be a Boon for others who would prefer to fly on SkyTeam carriers.
SAS was one of the founding members of Star Alliance.
It takes a long time to join an airline alliance. For example, Oman Air said it would join the oneworld alliance in June 2022 and is finally expected to gain membership in the second half of this year. This means that SAS is unlikely to instantly be a member of SkyTeam upon leaving Star Alliance. However, it has already worked out a plan for its frequent flyers. The airline revealed,
- EuroBonus Silver members will enjoy benefits such as extra baggage allowance and priority check-in with most SkyTeam airlines
- EuroBonus Gold and Diamond members will enjoy benefits such as lounge access, fast track and priority boarding with most SkyTeam airlines.
Commenting on the transition, Chief Commercial Officer at SAS, Paul Verhagen, revealed,
“We are thrilled to progress on our alliance transition journey and pave the way for delightful new destinations and loyalty program benefits across the world. Our focus now is to guide customers and our EuroBonus members on each step during this transition. We look forward to sharing more details as our journey progresses, with the aim to create a smooth transition to an exciting travel future with us”
What do you make of SAS’s decision to leave the Star Alliance? Will you be affected by the changes? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
