2012-08-20 — /travelprnews.com/ — When flight SK1280 took off from Danish provincial airport Billund at 6:30 last monday, SAS filled the last gab on the route map after the bankruptcy of Cimber Sterling in the early summer.
First, there was a bankruptcy in May which closed much of the domestic traffic in Denmark. Then, there was a summer with fewer-than-normal domestic flight, and an unfortunate situation with no flights between the two biggest airports in Denmark.
Last monday at 6:30, a big part of these concerns was eliminated when the first SAS flight from Billund to Copenhagen took off. With this new service, SAS has increased its domestic services by more than 50% in the course of the summer.
“That is a commendable and well-executed decision by SAS at an otherwise difficult time for the airline industry. All major provincial airports are now connected to the transport hub in Copenhagen once again,” said Carsten Nørland, VP, Sales and Marketing for Copenhagen Airport.
Good news for the passengers
With today’s new Billund service, more than 80% of the seats that vanished in the Cimber Sterling bankruptcy are now back on the market.
“This is very good news for commuters, business travellers and leisure travellers. SAS has increased its traffic so much that Denmark is again properly connected. This will create greater confidence and increase people’s enthusiasm for travel,” said Carsten Nørland.
“It is extremely important that Danish passengers have fast, convenient and frequent flights to Copenhagen that connect to international flights. Our next step is therefore to focus on increasing the number of daily frequencies to the most important domestic destinations as frequency is a key factor in our efforts to strengthen our position as the main transport hub of northern Europe,” said Carsten Nørland.
SAS meets demand
Serving 134 different destinations, 24 of which are intercontinental, Copenhagen Airport is the biggest transport hub in northern Europe.
SAS will operate five weekly frequencies between Copenhagen and Billund on weekdays and two to three on weekends.
“The Cimber Sterling bankruptcy has left far too many travellers in Jutland in an unfortunate situation. The new Billund service has therefore been high on their wish list, and we are pleased to meet this demand,” said Per Møller Jensen, Vice President EuroBonus and Marketing for SAS.
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