At the beginning of the month, we reported about Scandinavian Airlines’ (SAS) decision to leave Star Alliance effective August 31, 2024. While there was already plenty of evidence the airline would join SkyTeam alongside new stakeholders Air France and KLM, we finally got official word on that, too: SAS will become a full-fledged SkyTeam member on September 1, 2024, immediately after leaving Star Alliance.
More Benefits for EuroBonus Silver
This will affect status holders of SAS’ loyalty program EuroBonus. Members will be switching from Star Alliance Gold to SkyTeam Elite Plus overnight. The airline confirmed the following changes for its loyalty tier holders:
| SAS EuroBonus Tier | SkyTeam Equivalent |
|---|---|
| EuroBonus Silver | SkyTeam Elite |
| EuroBonus Gold | SkyTeam Elite Plus |
| EuroBonus Diamond | SkyTeam Elite Plus |
Plainly spoken: There are zero surprises within this announcement. It is great news for EuroBonus Silver members, as SkyTeam Elite gives a little more benefits than Star Alliance Silver. EuroBonus Silver will grant priority check-in and boarding on SkyTeam flights after September 1, while Star Alliance Silver does basically nothing to enhance the regular airport experience.
While the airline hasn’t updated its checked bags policy so far, it is fair to assume that status holders will be able to check a bag for free after the switch. This policy is SkyTeam standard. Currently, SAS denies any tier holder free hold luggage when booking a light fare.
Many Questions Remain Unanswered
While this answers some open questions we had at the start of the month, there are even more left unanswered. For example, SAS states that EuroBonus members will be able to earn points on SkyTeam flights after the beginning of September. But there is no info on how flights will be credited. The airline provides a link, but clicking it only gives you information on Star Alliance partners.
The most interesting part of SAS’ list of fairly obvious statements is that you can claim missing points from past Star Alliance flights up until September 8, 2024. This drastically shortens the time to claim points, which is usually two months. If you take your last Star Alliance flights as late as August 31, 2024, regularly crediting the points might actually take longer than you’d have time to claim them.
Bottom Line
In the month of April, SAS confirmed that it will both leave Star Alliance on August 31, 2024, and join SkyTeam the day after. While the groundwork for the alliance switch has been set, a lot of questions regarding the EuroBonus program are left open. On top of that, no details of operational changes are yet public: With the financial involvement of Air France and KLM, SAS is a candidate to join their stakeholder’s transatlantic joint venture with Delta and Virgin Atlantic. We look ahead to many more weeks of SAS related news and press releases.
Source: flysas.com
Cover Picture: Niklas Jonasson & Sarah Loetscher (Fotomontage Travel-Dealz)