SAS and Apollo are expanding their partnership regarding charter flights in a contract which covers three summer and three winter seasons through to 2024, with an option for an extension of a further two years to 2026. The partnership with Apollo represents SAS’ largest contract with a charter operator and is worth around SEK 3.4 billion over the first three years.
The contract means SAS remains the main partner for Apollo’s charter flights from Scandinavia for the duration of the contract. SAS will fly Apollo customers to and from 24 locations across Sweden, Denmark and Norway to 51 destinations around Europe. Apollo will also become SAS’ largest partner on the charter side.
“We are incredibly proud of our long-standing partnership and thrilled to have signed the new contract with Apollo. The charter partnership is a key part of our strategy to seasonally adapt our capacity and the new contract with Apollo is an acknowledgement that SAS is a highly valued business partner. As vaccinations increase in numbers, we look forward to being able to travel more freely yet again,” says Markus Ek, Vice President Global Sales at SAS.
Many of the charter flights will be flown using the brand-new Airbus A320 aircraft, with SAS’ new design both inside the cabins and outside. In recent years, SAS has renewed its fleet and replaced older aircraft with newer designs with more fuel-efficient engines, thereby also cutting its carbon dioxide emissions.
“Here at Apollo, we see a bright future and we’re convinced that travel will start to pick up again soon. It therefore feels like a very positive step forward to have signed a contract with SAS which will secure our partnership for the coming years. SAS’ focus on sustainable travel, reliable deliveries and many weekend departures means that Apollo can safely focus on doing what we do best: creating the very best holiday experiences for our customers,” says Leif Vase Larsen, CEO Northern Europe at DER Touristik Nordic AB.
