Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) confirmed on Tuesday (April 10) its decision to order 50 Airbus A320neo aircraft for its short and medium-haul routes, as it plans to phase out old Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft, with delivery to commence from spring 2019.

The new order is in addition to an existing order for 30 Airbus A320neos, of which SAS has received 17. Combining the two, SAS will have at least 80 Airbus A320neos in service during 2023, creating for the first time a single-type fleet.

“Just over one year ago, we started to phase into service brand new Airbus A320neos, and since then we have received a very positive response from our customers. I’m therefore delighted that, through this order, we can continue improving and investing in our customer offering, and thereby SAS’s future. We are also creating a single-type and more efficient fleet for the first time. Ordering 50 Airbus A320neos gives us access to the market’s most efficient aircraft thereby enabling us to further improve our operational efficiency and to continue to reduce our climate-impacting emissions,” said Rickard Gustafson, president and CEO of SAS.

“We are proud with this repeat commitment by SAS. The A320neo will complement SAS’s existing Airbus fleet, with unbeatable fuel efficiency and the lowest operating costs and environmental footprint. It is the perfect choice for SAS, for replacing its older generation aircraft. This means more of SAS’s passengers will keep enjoying the best comfort in the skies,” said Eric Schulz, chief commercial officer, Airbus Commercial Aircraft.

The Airbus A320neo has 15–20 per cent lower jet-fuel consumption per seat kilometer compared to the aircraft being phased out of traffic. In addition, the climate-impacting emissions can be further reduced through the use of biofuel. Today, SAS already invests in biofuel and has also been working for several years on stimulating increased production of biofuels

The investments in the customer offering and efficiency enhancements over the past few years have contributed to SAS’s improved profitability, which in turn has enabled this aircraft order. SAS is in the process of implementing SEK3 billion ($360 million) in efficiency gains by 2020.

SAS will have to continue to improve efficiency even after 2020. The renewal of the aircraft fleet together with the implementation of the single type fleet means SAS can take efficiency enhancements of its operations to the next level. - TradeArabia News Service