Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is continuing its post-restructuring rebuild with a fresh round of longhaul growth, this time with routes to the United Arab Emirates and Thailand.
SAS Adds Dubai And Thailand Routes As It Builds Longhaul Momentum
SAS will expand its long-haul network for the Winter 2026/27 season with new service to Dubai (DWC), Phuket (HKT), and Krabi (KBV).
For the first time since 2011, SAS will return to the United Arab Emirates with daily service from Copenhagen to Dubai World Central (DWC). Dubai is a logical addition. It is a major global business hub, a popular leisure destination, and a strong connecting point for onward travel. The route gives SAS customers a nonstop option to a market that has long been served primarily by Gulf carriers and other competitors.
At the same time, SAS is significantly boosting its Thailand footprint. The airline will launch nonstop service from Copenhagen to both Phuket and Krabi, two high-demand leisure destinations. These will represent the first scheduled nonstop flights from Scandinavia to those airports. Thailand capacity from Copenhagen will increase by more than 75 percent compared to this winter, in which SAS serves only Bangkok (BKK).
(I was on the inaugural BKK-CPH flight. You can read my A350-900 business class review here)
Dubai will operate daily, while Phuket and Krabi will run during the peak winter season. The Thailand routes will be operated with Airbus A350 aircraft, while Dubai will see a mix of widebody operations depending on demand and scheduling.
SAS is also increasing capacity on other long-haul routes for the winter season, including Boston, Tokyo Haneda, Seoul, and Bangkok. Much of this growth is supported by the expected addition of two Airbus A350 aircraft into the fleet.
SAS Is Growing Again
This is a notable shift for SAS. After years focused on survival, restructuring, and trimming underperforming routes, the airline is now cautiously rebuilding its long-haul presence. Rather than chasing prestige routes, SAS appears focused on high-demand leisure markets and strategically important business destinations.
Paul Verhagen, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at SAS, said:
“Dubai represents an important market for SAS, and at the same time we are proud to introduce Phuket and Krabi to our longhaul network. Re-establishing our presence in Dubai allows us to offer our customers direct access to one of the world’s most exciting cities, while the addition of Phuket and Krabi provides nonstop connections to Thailand’s most sought-after holiday destinations. Together, these routes strengthen Copenhagen as a global hub for Scandinavia and Northern Europe and expand the choices available to our customers for both business and leisure travel.”
The expansion also reinforces Copenhagen’s importance as a connecting hub. With CPH providing a fairly seamless transfer experience (though I’d argue Helsinki is still easier), SAS is betting that it can capture both local demand and connecting traffic across Northern Europe.
CONCLUSION
SAS’s new Dubai and Thailand routes signal a more confident phase for the carrier and I expect these routes will perform well.
Of course, the real test will be whether these routes generate sustainable yields beyond seasonal leisure spikes but the goal of reestablishing Copenhagen as a credible longhaul hub in an increasingly competitive European landscape is nice to see after so many years of treat.
Will SAS’s longhaul rebuild be successful this time around?
image: SAS
KBV current temperature 80°. Maryland current temperature -3°.
What in PhiPhi! Bitter cold in NYC too.
Friends have a house I’ve visited in krabi The dude drove a range rover from the UK to Bangkok! This could never happen in our lifetime. Amazing life. I wish I could say more. Not my story to tell.
Wow! That must’ve been a wild ride, depending on the era, especially through the Balkans, Caucuses, and/or the Stans and Myanmar/Burma.
The stuff that cannot be repeated in today’s world.
You say they are flying to DXB and DWC…
I typed DXB out of force of habit, but SAS says it will fly to DWC.
It’s a shame that they don’t seem to have loaded any award availability for the new destinations!
Is Finland not Scandinavia? Finnair currently flies to Phuket (but admittedly not Krabi)
Correct, it’s not considered part of Scandinavia- while Denmark is despite most of its land being in the peninsula to the North of Germany. It’s a cultural/linguistic classification, not a geographical one.
I think people confuse it as Finland (and Iceland) are included with the other 3 as being Nordic countries, but not a part of Scandinavia.
Finns will tell you that Finland is a Nordic country just like Estonia and one or two more places and they are definitely not Scandinavian!
“and a strong connecting point for onward travel”
DXB is, yes. DWC, not so much…
Fair enough, not directly, but will make it easy for a stopover in Dubai or Abu Dhabi then flying out of DXB or AUH.
The joint flag carrier airline of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden is trying to make it easier to escape the winter chill…
“These will represent the first scheduled nonstop flights from Scandinavia to those airports.” Thai used to fly CPH to HKT direct and Norse Atlantic operates direct ARN and OSL to HKT currently.
Oh, that’s interesting. I didn’t consider Norse and just took SK at its word. I guess it’s a fake airline in the eyes of SAS?! 😉
Best of good luck to still struggling Norse!
I don’t see Krabi lasting on the schedule, if regional strongholds like SQ and CX couldn’t make it work, I don’t see how this will last. There is simply no yield in Krabi to make this viable without any form of subsidy. Why they don’t consider flying to Bali or Singapore baffles me.