Air France-KLM to become majority owner of SAS

Air France-KLM and SAS Group announced on 4 July 2025, that AF-KLM is accelerating its plan to secure a majority of the shares in SAS.

Originally, the plan was to become a majority owner in 2028 but this has now been brough forward due to the succesful turn-around of SAS.

According to the press-release, AF-KLM is initiating all the regulatory proceedings with the aim to complete the deal in 2026, which will see AF-KLM's share rise from 19.9% today to 60.5%. The Danish government will retain its current share of 26,4%.

With the acquisition of SAS, it will become the third full-service carrier within the Group. As part of it, Copenhagen-Kastrup will be developed as the third hub for the airlines, after Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol. SAS will also be fully integrated into the trans-atlantic joint-venture AF-KLM has with Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic.

As part of positioning Copenhagen-Kastrup as the third hub, SAS has earlier this month placed an order for up to 55 Embraer E195-E2s.

Illustration by Air France-KLM.