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SAS Eager to Introduce Non-Stop Service to Stockholm with 3 Weekly Flights During Summer Mid-February, 2008
Scandinavian Airlines International is planning to operate
non-stop flights to Stockholm from Tokyo Narita with limited
schedules during its summertime table period. The new flight plan was
revealed by Hans W. Dyhrfort, Vice-president, Region Asia & Pacific,
who visited Japan on the occasion of a reception for Ole Johansson
who will assume the post of Director &General Manager, Japan in April.
Currently, SAS possess 7 take-off and landing slots at Narita
dedicated to the Tokyo/ Copenhagen route. During the summer season,
when business traffic demand becomes sluggish and instead, leisure
traffic demand increases, the airline decided to switch one of the
slots to a non-stop flight to Bergen departing every Saturday for
five weeks from July 12 to August 9, citing that "The Japan route
plays an important role in terms of operating profits. We are eager
to expand our route network, but unfortunately, there has been a slot
problem which discouraged our project."
Dyhrfort mentioned that the Narita/ Bergen route is "the first
trial for a future route expansion." SAS considers the Narita/
Stockholm route to be the second trial to attract leisure traffic
during summer 2009, he added.
Major wholesalers are working on package tours featuring the new
flight to Bergen this summer. The Bergen flights are fully booked
already attracting the leisure market and, likewise, SAS hopes to be
able to start service to Stockholm 3 times a week.
The airline has a long-standing wish to operate non-stop to
Stockholm. Dyhrfort suggested, "Only if slots at Tokyo Haneda and
Narita are increased," apparently eying the foreseen expansion of
take-off and landing slots at the metropolitan airports in Tokyo in
2010. Depending on the sales outcome of the seasonal operations in
summer 2009, chances are that SAS is likely to start even scheduled
service to Stockholm throughout the year.
At present, due to limited slots available at the metropolitan
airports, most of the new flights are steered to regional airports
including Chubu and Kansai international airports. SAS would rather
centralize its operation in Tokyo, where high yield traffic exists,
than decentralize it in regional cities.
With an aim to expand the route network to Scandinavia, SAS
revealed its sales objective in the Japan market, indicating, "At
present, we should concentrate our operation in Tokyo in an untiring
effort to attract steady traffic to Scandinavia from Tokyo."
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