After Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) officially joined the SkyTeam Alliance earlier this month, we wondered which Delta hub the carrier would target for a new route next year. It didn't take long for the Scandinavian carrier to choose Seattle (SEA).
On Tuesday morning, SAS announced it would resume nonstop flights between Seattle (SEA) and Copenhagen (CPH) starting May 21 – a route the airline last operated way back in 2009. Flights from Seattle to Copenhagen are already on sale directly through SAS's website, though you won't find them as of publication on Google Flights or partner airlines' websites.
SAS also announced new service between New York (JFK) and Oslo (OSL) Wednesday. The airline already flies from nearby Newark (EWR) up to Oslo, but as SAS transitions to the SkyTeam Alliance away from United and Newark's Star Alliance, it makes more sense for SAS to have the Delta connectivity its afforded at JFK. That flight will begin Mar. 30, 2025. Norwegian previously operated the JFK-OSL route from 2013 to 2020, when it ceased operations. Norse Atlantic took over the route in 2022 and remains the only carrier to operate it.
The new Seattle to Copenhagen route will operate five days a week, flying on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Denmark-bound flights will depart Seattle at 4 p.m. and arrive in Copenhagen the next morning at 10:30 a.m. The return flight leaves Denmark at 1:05 p.m. and arrives in Seattle at 1:50 p.m.
The airline will initially fly an Airbus A350-900 on the route before swapping in an older Airbus A330-300 come late June. Either way, these long-haul SAS flights will feature economy seats, a premium economy seat called SAS Plus (which we think might be the single best value flying to Europe), and a lie-flat business class cabin for the roughly 9-hour, 30-minute flight.
Read Next: Our Review of SAS Premium Economy on the Airbus A330
Seattle will be SAS's 11th destination in North America. And it's a logical addition: A major hub where Delta is trying to undercut Alaska Airlines by adding more and more long-haul service. The Pacific Northwest is full of travelers with Scandinavian ties who will gladly fly nonstop to Copenhagen – plus, Delta can connect plenty of passengers from up and down the West Coast through Seattle and onward to Scandinavia with SAS.
“We are excited to expand our North American network with Seattle. The route from Copenhagen will provide more travel options for our customers and strengthen the connection between Scandinavia and the Pacific Northwest, a region of growing economic importance with deep Scandinavian roots,” Anko van der Werff, the airline's president and CEO, said in a statement.
In addition to its biggest hub in Copenhagen (CPH), SAS also flies nonstop to Oslo (OSL) from Newark (EWR) and Miami (MIA) as well as Newark to Oslo (OSL).
On the other side of the Atlantic, SAS can connect U.S. travelers onward to many more destinations throughout Europe. The airline's new partnership with Delta through the SkyTeam Alliance will allow flyers to seamlessly book a one- or two-stop journey to Copenhagen, Berlin (BER), Tallinn (TLL) or many more.
Wednesday morning, SAS announced a major expansion of its Copenhagen hub, too, adding what it is calling more than 15 new routes to its network and an expansion of several other routes.
Interestingly, SAS is calling Toronto (YYZ) to Copenhagen (CPH) a new route, which appears to be false. According to data from Cirium, SAS has operated that flight since 2022. We've sent Thrifty Traveler Premium flight deal alerts based on flights on that route and, in fact, you could take that flight later today if you wanted to!
The rest of the new route announcements are intra-Europe flights that will help connect long-haul flyers with the rest of Europe.
As it exits the Star Alliance, SAS is clearly rethinking its network: Moving away from United hubs in favor of flying to Delta strongholds. The airline already added a nonstop route to Atlanta (ATL) earlier this year.
The addition of Seattle next year is fantastic news for flyers in the Pacific Northwest, as SAS famously (and regularly) slashes fares to and from Europe. It's not unusual to snag roundtrip economy seats to Europe in the $300s and roundtrip premium economy fares in the $500s and $600s with these regular promotions.
The Seattle-to-Copenhagen nonstop route was cancelled in 2009 after decades of operating between the two airports.
And Seattle may not be the only addition next year. In its announcement, SAS suggested there's more to come.
“Seattle is one of several new routes that SAS will announce soon,” the airline said.
That will likely include other international destinations outside of the U.S. and Canada. But according to a translation from a previous interview, airline officials have been considering replacing its current route from Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD) … with a nonstop to and from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP).
Bottom Line
SAS is coming to the Pacific Northwest, with nonstop service from Seattle (SEA) to Copenhagen (CPH) resuming next summer after a nearly 16-year hiatus.
Inaugural flights are scheduled for May 21, with five flights a week flying from Seattle to the Danish capital. It's the latest sign that SAS is shifting its focus to Delta hubs in the U.S. after joining the SkyTeam alliance.
And it might not be the last new route we see to and from Delta hubs next year, either.
