SAS and Apollo are strengthening their strategic partnership by signing a new 3-year agreement worth 4.5 billion SEK. The agreement means that SAS remains Apollo’s major charter operations partner in Scandinavia from the summer of 2025 through the summer of 2027.
During spring 2021, SAS and Apollo entered into a then record-sized agreement for charter operations extending until 2024. Now, a new agreement has been signed where SAS will fly Apollo’s customers to and from 15 locations in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway to 24 destinations across Europe. Apollo remains SAS’s largest partner in the charter sector.
In addition, SAS and Apollo are set to inaugurate direct flights connecting Copenhagen and Banjul, Gambia, commencing in November 2024. These flights will be serviced by Airbus A321LR aircraft. SAS will operate the route from Copenhagen to Banjul for approximately 5 months, offering seamless connections from Stockholm, Oslo, and Helsinki. Notably, the A321LR is the same aircraft model deployed by SAS for some of its long-haul flights, for example to New York, offering three cabins: Business, Plus and Go.
“We look forward to providing our shared customers a unique flying experience over the next three years as they board our SAS aircrafts from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The agreement with Apollo is an important part of our strategy to seasonally adjust our flight capacity. The new agreement with Apollo reaffirms SAS’ position as a valued partner in the charter market,” says Michael Erixon, Global Sales Director at SAS.
“At Apollo, we hold a holistic view on the customer experience when choosing our partners. We have a long-standing partnership with SAS, which is known for its modern fleet of fuel-efficient aircraft, and we are very pleased to continue offering our customers the opportunity to fly with SAS as part of their holiday experience. We are especially excited that Apollo is the first tour operator in Scandinavia to offer SAS’ well appreciated long-haul product as part of our new venture for travel from Scandinavia to Gambia,” says Tobias Jönsson, CEO Apollo.