Air France-KLM wants a controlling stake in Scandinavian carrier SAS, and it first needs a green light from the European Commission. As the group prepares for that review, a new question is coming into focus: which concessions will it have to offer, and will they go beyond routes inside Europe? Trade press reports suggest Air France-KLM may also be looking at commitments on transatlantic routes, such as giving up slots or making room for rivals. Air France-KLM, SAS and the Commission have not announced anything about this. What is clear is that the deal affects KLM, Amsterdam Schiphol and the Copenhagen hub, and with them pilots at KLM and SAS.

The deal: from 19.9 to 60.5 percent

On 4 July 2025 Air France-KLM announced that it intends to raise its stake in SAS from 19.9 to 60.5 percent by fully acquiring the stakes held by investors Castlelake (32.0 percent) and Lind Invest (8.6 percent). The Danish state keeps its 26.4 percent and its board seats. The price will be set at closing, based on SAS's latest financial performance, including EBITDA and net debt. The majority stake would give Air France-KLM control of SAS, which would become a subsidiary of the group, with "a comprehensive integration in all areas of business, including loyalty"1.

SAS chief executive Anko van der Werff called it "a defining moment for SAS" and said the move supports "positioning Copenhagen as our global hub for the region, while continuing to uphold strong and strategic operations in both Oslo and Stockholm"2.

The road here was long. SAS entered a voluntary Chapter 11 process in the United States in July 20223. In October 2023 a consortium of Air France-KLM, Castlelake and Lind Invest was selected to fund, alongside the Danish state, its exit from restructuring. Air France-KLM invested USD 144.5 million for up to 19.9 percent, with provisions allowing it to become the controlling shareholder after a minimum of two years, subject to regulatory conditions and financial performance4. SAS, a co-founder of Star Alliance, then moved to SkyTeam, joining in September 202415.

Where the EU review stands

Air France-KLM originally aimed to close in the second half of 20261. Presenting half-year results on 30 July, CEO Ben Smith said: "We expect this transaction to close by the end of this year". CFO Steven Zaat said the minority stake had not gone through the EU merger process: "On SAS, we have a minority stake, really a minority stake, and we didn't go to, let's say, the merger process at the EU."6 A majority stake is a different matter. In February Zaat told Danish trade site Check-in.dk that the Commission needs to form "a full picture of the competitive situation" (as quoted in Danish)7.

A formal notification does not yet appear in the Commission's public case register: none of the 41 ongoing merger cases listed on 22 October involves Air France-KLM and SAS8. The clock only starts after notification. The Commission then has 25 working days for a phase I review. If concerns remain, it opens an in-depth phase II investigation with 90 working days, which can be extended. Companies may offer remedies, changes that preserve competition, in either phase9. Analyst Hans Jørgen Elnæs of Norwegian consultancy Winair expects clarity this autumn or by early 2027 at the latest10.

In Norway, analysts expect SAS to give up peak-time slots in the morning and late afternoon, mainly at Oslo Gardermoen, Copenhagen and Stockholm Arlanda. Elnæs said Air France-KLM might also have to release slots at Amsterdam Schiphol and Paris-Charles de Gaulle10. Norwegian, Ryanair, Wizz Air, easyJet and Finnair are named as possible users of released slots11. SAS itself said that until the transaction is completed, SAS and Air France-KLM remain separate companies and competitors10.

Why the North Atlantic matters

SAS and Air France-KLM already work closely across the ocean. Since September 2025 Air France has placed its code on SAS nonstop flights to the United States: from Copenhagen to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York JFK, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, from Stockholm to Newark and Miami, and from Oslo to Newark and JFK12. SAS flies nonstop to New York from all three Scandinavian capitals5.

Air France and KLM run a transatlantic joint venture with Delta and Virgin Atlantic, coordinating schedules and fares. Van der Werff wanted SAS in it: "I'm wired towards joint ventures," he said in November 2025, adding that talks had not yet begun13. In airline mergers the Commission assesses route by route whether enough choice remains, and in 2004 it also weighed connecting services14. Where SAS and the group with its partners both carry travellers between Scandinavia and the United States, that question is an obvious one, for nonstop flights as well as connections via Amsterdam, Paris or Copenhagen.

What earlier cases show

KLM has been here before. When the Commission cleared the Air France and KLM merger in February 2004, the two airlines had to surrender 94 take-off and landing slots per day. The concerns covered routes within Europe, but also Amsterdam to New York, Amsterdam to Atlanta, Paris to Detroit, and Paris and Amsterdam to Lagos. The Dutch and French governments also promised traffic rights for carriers wishing to fly to the United States via Amsterdam or Paris14. Those commitments still apply: for summer 2026, the Commission-appointed monitoring trustee again invited slot applications on routes including Amsterdam to Atlanta, Paris to Detroit and Lyon to Amsterdam15.

A recent example is Lufthansa and ITA Airways. The Commission cleared that deal with conditions in July 2024. A competitor received slots at Milan Linate and took over routes between Italy and the Lufthansa Group's home markets. Additional feeder flights from Rome to the hubs of European competitors were meant to improve competition on long-haul routes from Rome to North America16. That, too, was a transatlantic remedy, delivered through connecting traffic.

Copenhagen as a third hub

For Air France-KLM this is about more than adding another airline. Copenhagen could become a third hub for the group next to Paris and Amsterdam, although it is still much smaller: SAS is flying 7.9 million seats from Copenhagen this year, against 22.6 million for Air France at Paris-Charles de Gaulle13. SAS is building there: seats from Copenhagen in 2025 were 38 percent higher than in 2023, while capacity in Oslo fell slightly13. In June 2026 SAS announced the largest investment in its history: up to 40 Airbus widebodies, combining new A330-900neos with additional A330-300s, at a list price of over USD 10 billion. That follows an order for 55 Embraer E195-E2s. According to an analysis presented by SAS, its planned growth in Copenhagen would, if realised, support 25,000 additional jobs across the economy by 203017.

SAS is also changing leadership. Van der Werff will leave at the beginning of 2027 to become CEO of Air Canada; he stays until then while the board looks for a successor18.

What it means for KLM and Amsterdam

For KLM the deal comes at a difficult time. The airline is in the middle of its Back on Track cost programme, and CEO Marjan Rintel said at the half-year results that one good half-year does not make KLM structurally strong19. According to Dutch news agency ANP, 250 office jobs have gone and a vacancy freeze remains in place20.

Space at Schiphol is scarce. If the group has to give up Amsterdam slots for the SAS deal, as it did in 2004, that would cost KLM capacity at an airport where every slot counts. On the other hand, a growing Copenhagen could feed extra transfer traffic into the group. A second expansion did not happen: on 14 October Portugal chose Lufthansa to buy almost half of TAP Air Portugal21. That makes SAS all the more important for Air France-KLM, including Air France. The full story is in our TAP privatisation dossier.

What it means for pilots

First of all, SAS is hiring. It is looking for Embraer E195 captains and experienced first officers for the E195 and the Airbus A320, with bases in Copenhagen, Oslo, Bergen and Stockholm. Direct-entry captains on the E195 start at DKK 67,774 per month at a Copenhagen base according to the job advert (paid in local currency in Norway and Sweden), with a fully funded type rating and a three-year bond, and career paths to the A320, A330 or A35022. For first officers, SAS is recruiting for summer 2027, with the first courses planned for autumn 202623. See the E195 captain vacancy, the first officer vacancy and what a pilot earns at SAS.

The fleet orders are the strongest signal. Up to 40 widebodies, including new A330-900neos, point to more long-haul flying from Copenhagen, while the 55 E2s renew and expand the European fleet. A growing fleet usually means faster upgrades. Elnæs does not rule out that crews and aircraft could eventually be used across the airlines in the group10.

Nothing has been announced about merging pilot groups or seniority lists. After approval SAS would become a subsidiary of the group, like KLM and Air France, and Van der Werff says it will remain "proudly Scandinavian at heart, look and feel"2. Getting ready for an SAS assessment? Practise with the SAS pilot selection. Aiming for KLM instead? Try the KLM pilot selection or the KLM Flight Academy selection, read what a pilot earns at KLM and browse all pilot jobs.