Airline News

The new SAS Bangkok route from Scandinavia has opened. The airline is expanding its services to meet growing leisure travel demand by launching a new route to Bangkok, Thailand from Copenhagen, Denmark. The inaugural flight took place on October 30, 2023, almost 75 years after SAS’ first flight between Copenhagen and Bangkok.

Copenhagen-Bangkok will be a winter seasonal route. Both legs of the route will operate as overnight flights enabling seamless connections to and from Scandinavia as well as other European destinations via CPH airport. As part of the Winter 2023/2024 program, SAS will also continue its three-times weekly services to Tokyo Haneda (HND) and Shanghai (PVG).

SAS operated its first flight between Copenhagen and Bangkok in 1949. This flight marked the opening of a new air route between Scandinavia and Thailand. A route, which at the time “only” took 36 hours and had stops in Zürich, Rome, Damascus, Karachi, and Calcutta along the way. SAS continued to fly to Thailand for the next 64 years, up until 2013. SAS now brings the connection back and the inauguration flight on October 30, 2023, will take approximately 10 hours and 30 minutes, with no stopovers.

Thailand welcomed SAS Airlines’ maiden Flight SK973 from Copenhagen to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) arranged a special event to welcome the inaugural flight at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Present at the event were TAT Deputy Governor for International Marketing – Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas Mr. Siripakorn Cheawsamoot, TAT Deputy Governor for Marketing Communications Mr. Nithee Seeprae, SAS Airlines Brand Activation Manager Mrs. Tina Szczyrbak, and SAS Regional GM of Asia & Pacific Mr. Anders Wahlström.

From Copenhagen, SAS Flight SK973 was inaugurated in a special ceremony co-organised by the TAT Stockholm Office and Scandinavian Airlines. The two parties also cooperate on a range of marketing promotions and publicity campaigns.

“Thailand and the Scandinavian countries have a long history of friendship and cooperation and returning with a direct route is a true pleasure. The Bangkok route will offer a perfect entry point for wider Thailand and Asia and be a great option for both business and leisure travellers. Thailand is a favourite destination among many passengers during the winter season and a lot of Scandinavians see Thailand as their home away from home,” says SAS Chief Commercial Officer, Paul Verhagen.

“Returning with a direct route after nine years is a true pleasure. The Bangkok route will offer a perfect entry point for wider Thailand and be a great option for both business and leisure travellers. Bangkok is a vibrant meeting point for international businesses and the country has topped several rankings as the world’s most popular tourist destination with its beautiful beaches, lush jungles and extraordinary Thai cuisine. Regardless of reason to travel, we are excited to once again offer a direct connection between Scandinavia and the Land of Smiles,” sais Anko van der Werff, President & CEO of SAS earlier when the route was announced.

Along with 19,800 seats on SAS’s Copenhagen-Bangkok flight, air seat capacity between Scandinavian countries and Thailand amounts to 354,586 seats throughout this year, including those available on regular and charter services operated by Thai Airways International, Norse Atlantic Airways, VING, and TUI.

Thailand recorded 254,417 visitors from Scandinavia in the first nine months of this year. The number is expected to reach 404,452 visitors by year-end and generate around 39.3 billion Baht in revenue.

Scandinavian visitors to Thailand stayed on average at 18.56 days and spent around 5,400 Baht per day. Favourite Thai destinations include Bangkok, Phuket, Krabi, Chon Buri, and Surat Thani.

SAS will operate the Bangkok route with Airbus A350 aircraft offering passengers a unique travel experience. This aircraft has much lower fuel consumption and up to 30 percent lower CO2 emissions than previous comparable aircraft. The Airbus A350 has 300 seats and offers three travel classes – SAS Business, SAS Plus and SAS Go.

Schedule:
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays CPH-BKK
Flight no. Departure STD Arrival STA
SK973 CPH 23:35 BKK 17:10 (+1)
Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays BKK-CPH
Flight no. Departure STD Arrival STA
SK974 BKK 23:50 CPH 06:40 (+1)

About SAS

SAS, Scandinavia’s leading airline, with main hubs in Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm, flies to destinations in Europe, USA and Asia. Spurred by a Scandinavian heritage and sustainability values, SAS aims to be the driving force in sustainable aviation and in the transition toward net zero We are continuously reducing our carbon emissions through using more sustainable aviation fuel, investing in new fuel-efficient aircraft and technology innovation together with partners – thereby contributing towards the industry target of net zero CO2 emissions by 2050.