SAS to Serve Tel Aviv from Danish Capital

SAS Scandinavian Airlines has confirmed it will introduce a direct connection between the Danish capital Copenhagen and Tel Aviv in Israel by the end of the second quarter of this year. The new flight is one of 28 new routes that the Scandinavian carrier is introducing in 2012 in line with its revised business strategy of increasing its product offering to both business and leisure passengers.

The new link will be launched on a daily basis from June 4, 2012 but SAS already has plans to ramp-up capacity with a second weekly frequency due to be introduced in July and third weekly departure from October 28, 2012 at the start of the Northern 2012/2013 Winter schedule.

"We are seeing increasing demand for routes to and from the Middle East, so we are very pleased to now offer our customers the option of flying direct to Tel Aviv all year round at competitive prices,” said Per Møller Jensen, Vice President Brand, Marketing and EuroBonus, SAS Scandinavian Airlines. “Tel Aviv, which is on the Mediterranean coast, is Israel's financial and commercial hub and is growing fast. There is also a wealth of cultural experiences, wonderful beaches and exceptional architecture."

It has been over ten years since SAS last provided scheduled services on the Copenhagen – Tel Aviv route. The airline had previously offered up to a daily operation between the two cities using Douglas DC-9 and later McDonnell Douglas MD-80 equipment, but this route was closed in November 2001. Since then Arkia Israel Airlines maintained links between the destinations on a much lower frequency and not necessarily year-round basis, and since November 2010 Cimber Sterling has been offering regular flights, albeit it will close the route from next month.

"There is no doubt that a direct route to and from Tel Aviv will attract both tourists and business people from the area to Scandinavia. We are really looking forward to the launch of the route and being able to welcome our passengers on board," added Per Møller Jensen. SAS plans to use either 141-seat Airbus A319s or 198-seat A321s on the route, subject to demand.

The table below highlights the estimated O&D traffic between Copenhagen and Tel Aviv and clearly shows how Cimber Sterling has stimulated the market since it added regular flights between the two cities. Its success on the route will certainly have gone a long way in persuading SAS to return to the market.